If you were wondering if young teenagers’ exposure to social media could get any worse, you may be in for a sense of relief.
TikTok announced earlier this month that its users under the age of 18 will now have a one-hour limit on their usage of the app.
The Chinese-owned company also announced that it will automatically implement the shift by alerting users who are registered as under 18 once they’ve hit the one-hour mark of daily use.
TikTok users impacted by this change were also told that although the decision is set in stone, teens between ages 13-17 can enter a passcode to unlock more scrolling time once their one-hour has come to an end.
This means that a parent or guardian can now have a better sense of control when away from their children and manage their child’s time management more accordingly.
You might be thinking this is great news. However, some young adults are not convinced that this change will be as effective as the company makes it seem.
Tamiah Leonard, a second-year bio pre-med major at Florida A&M University, doesn’t agree with the one-hour limit.
“I don’t think that putting a time limit on a teenager’s phone usage will do much,” Leonard said. “They are always going to find a way around it you know. We as people are just always going to take matters into our own hands when something is taken away from us, especially so abrupt like this.”
Many are wondering whether other social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter and Facebook will begin to follow suit after TikTok’s decision.
Many are also wondering whether TikTok’s decision will cause an uproar or controversy because social media is more present than ever before.
FAMU computer science and IT engineer Joseph Jones thinks that the one-hour limit isn’t such a bad idea for TikTok users under the age of 18.
“I think that spending several amounts of time on a device can slowly start to become a problem,” Jones said. “I think this was an appropriate move on TikTok’s behalf not only because of the problems young teenagers are facing mentally from harsh usage and dependency on technology at such a young age but because maybe this can be a step in a better direction academically wise.”
For more updates on TikTok and any upcoming changes that may take place, you can find more information at tiktok.com