Instagram Launches New Features to Nudge People to 'Take a Break'

Instagram Take a Break Feature: However, it can be addictive and lead to negative mental health outcomes. Instagram recently announced new features to help curb these effects in order to make their platform better for everyone.  The new features will allow users the option of taking breaks instead of scrolling through their feeds indefinitely, or receiving reminders when they have spent too long on the app without switching topics. The feature can be enabled or disabled at any time and will apply to all of the user's devices linked with their profile. You can decide how long you want to take a break for - either 10, 20, or 30 minutes. Instagram Take a Break Feature, Instagram head of well-being and safety Vaishnavi J said in an interview. “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,” she said. “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.” For teens, Instagram is providing additional tools such as setting daily reminders to limit screen time and also allowing users under 13 years old to only be able to see posts from people they follow in order to keep them safer online. This feature can also be enabled or disabled at any time. This new feature seems like a step in the right direction for Instagram, hopefully, it will prompt users to make changes that benefit their mental health! We need to be mindful of how much time we spend on these platforms and take breaks when necessary. It's important to remember that real life is outside of our screens! Read More: INSTAGRAM TO PROMPT TEENS AWAY FROM HARMFUL CONTENT, EMBRACE REGULATORS’ ROLE IN PROTECTING YOUNG PEOPLE