Earlier this week, Meta-owned Instagram launched a handful of new features aimed at encouraging users to be more mindful of the time they spend on the photo-sharing app as the company tackles mounting accusations that its algorithms endanger the mental well-being of teenagers.
In a blog post discussing the change of tact, Instagram described its new 'take a break' feature that, once enabled, will nudge users through messages at 10, 20 and 30-minute intervals, reminding them to engage in alternative activities like going for a walk, listening to music or carry out deep breathing exercises.
In an interview, Vaishnavi J, Instagram's head of well-being and safety explained, “When you've been spending a long period of time – 20 minutes for example being a fairly long period of time – it is very valuable for you to then get a little notification reminding you to take a break.”
“You may not feel like you've been spending that much time on the app because you've been doing five or six different things in those 20 minutes,” she added.
The timing of the rollout is significant with the company's head Adam Mosseri testifying before Congress only a day after. Instagram has been the subject of increasing scrutiny following the disclosure of troves of internal documents by Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen.
The documents indicated that the company was acutely aware of its app's impact on teenagers' mental health and consciously chose to ignore the findings. The revelations, coupled...
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