Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —
Platform social media Instagram doing a test latest features they are called ‘Take a Break’. The feature serves to serve as a reminder to users when they have spent a long time on the platform.
“We started testing a new feature called “Take a Break” this week. This control allows you to receive an in-app break reminder after a duration of your choosing,” Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram, said on Twitter, Wednesday (11/10).
In a video that he also attached in the tweet, Mosseri said the feature has been tested on a handful of Instagram users.
This is done to monitor whether the feature can function as expected or not. If it doesn’t work, Instagram will discontinue the feature and if it is successful then the feature will be rolled out to wider users next month and eventually to all Instagram users.
“We will receive feedback. Then over time, we will stop the project, if it doesn’t work, or we will send it to everyone,” he said.
The testing of the ‘Take a Break’ feature comes amid intense scrutiny of Instagram and its parent company Meta after whistleblower Frances Haugen testified before Congress about the company’s internal research showing Instagram can have a negative effect on young people’s mental health.
The teens studied told the company’s researchers that they felt “addicted” to Instagram but lacked the self-control to reduce their use.
The company’s vice president of global affairs, Nick Clegg, told CNN in the last month that they are working on a ‘Take a Break’ feature along with a similar feature. All with teenagers in mind.
“When the system sees that a teenager is viewing the same content over and over again and that content may not be conducive to their well-being, we will encourage them to view other content,” Clegg said.
Reported from The Verge, a company spokesperson confirmed that users must select the feature to enable it. The feature will send a notification urging them to turn it on.
A quick glance at the features in Mosseri’s video shows a prompt to be displayed in the user’s feed. However this warning will not take over the entire screen. So the user can just ignore the warning. If users choose to enable this feature, they will be asked to choose how much time they want to spend in the app before they receive a reminder.
Mosseri said Instagram is working with third-party experts to get advice on what tips to offer and how to get users to take a break while using Instagram.
(mrh/ex)
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