There’s no doubt about it, Instagram is incredibly popular. As one of the most frequently used sites among adolescents, it’s easy to get sucked into the endless photos and videos, as well as the various accounts of friends, peers, celebrities, and influencers. This isn’t even considering the Instagram Stories, Instagram TV, and direct messaging. Basically, Instagram can waste a lot of time.
Just like Apple rolling out their Screen Time and Google’s Digital Wellbeing features that they have included in their most recent updates, you may have noticed that Instagram has their own timing feature that is exclusively just for the app. People can find it by going to their profile page, clicking the top right button, and going to the first tab titled “Your Activity.” It can feel a little overwhelming, where the app will tell one their daily average over the past week, and they can specifically see how much time they have spent on Instagram each day over the last seven days.
While not as strict as the operating systems, Instagram also gives one the opportunity to remind them how much time they have been spending on the app. If they think that they are wasting a lot of time on it, Instagram gives them the option to send them reminders if they have reached a certain limit, but won’t completely lock them out of the app.
Unlike iPhones and Androids, which measure how much time one spends on all social media apps, Instagram measuring activity specifically for the app can feel more relevant, because it is so popular and frequently used. This is opposed to other apps that qualify as “social media” but may not be used as often, or may not even be considered by some as social media, like Facetime. This is also important considering that Instagram is not just one of, but thought to be the worst social media network for mental health. By being able to see how much time one spends on it, they can start to take control and make a conscious effort to reduce that number and make it a challenge for themselves. However, monitoring app usage can also have the opposite effect, because not meeting those goals can make one feel guilty and even worse about themselves.
Then again, activity monitoring is always optional. It’s ultimately up to the person to determine how they want to use social media and how often they want to be on them. Lately though, there has been an increase in ways to control and monitor usage in case they feel the need to start.
Do you think that it’s a good idea for social media apps to tell you how much time you’re spending on them? Do you think that there could be negative effects with timed activity?