Instagram to support teens time on app! Announces nudges, reminders

Instagram continues to add features to help teens better manage the time they spend on the app with new nudges and reminders to use the app's Take a Break feature.

Instagram announces nudges, reminders to use Take a Break feature. (Reuters)

Instagram has announced new tools and resources to support teens time on the app. Teens will now start seeing new nudges. As per the information provided by Instagram, "teens in certain countries will see a notification that encourages them to switch to a different topic if they're repeatedly looking at the same type of content on Explore. This nudge is designed to encourage teens to discover something new and excludes certain topics that may be associated with appearance comparison."

Explaining the reason behind designing nudges, Instagram said that research suggested that nudges can be effective for helping people- especially teens- be more mindful of how they are using social media in the moment. In a study on the effects of nudges on social media use, 58.2 percent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that nudges made their social media experience better by helping them become more mindful of their time on-platform.

Instagram too conducted research of its own to check the same. Its research also showed the same. During a one-week testing period, one in five teens who saw Instagram's new nudges switched to a different topic.

The social media application also launched Take a Break feature to remind people to take time off Instagram and soon, will launch new reminders for teens to turn on Take a Break when they have been scrolling in Reels for a period of time.

The reminders will feature Reels developed by young creators like @foodwithsoy, @abraxaxs and @mayasideas who share their own tips for taking a break and why it's a good idea to get off social media for a bit. These are being tested in the US, UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand now, and will launch in those and additional countries later this summer.

This is not all, Instagram is also empowering US-based young creators through funding and education to share more content on the app that inspires teens and supports their well-being. "An Expert Steering Committee of experts in child psychology and digital literacy will provide guidance on evidence-based ways for creators in the program to use language that strengthens emotional well-being and self image, how to create responsible content online and how creators can look after themselves and their communities on and offline," Instagram said.