TikTok is aiming to appease parents and regulators alike with the launch of a new scheme which enables parents to block their teens from being on the platform during times that they control.
The new Time Away feature has been added to the site’s Family Pairing parenting controls – launched five years ago – and allows parents to decide when it is best for their teens to take a break. Parents can also set a re-occurring schedule to best suit their family life. If plans change, teens can request extra time, but parents make the final decision.
It is also adding a feature that can allow parents to see who their teen is following on TikTok, and who follows them, along with accounts their teen has blocked. With increased visibility into their teen’s network, TikTok claims parents will be better equipped to have ongoing conversations and help their teens develop the digital literacy skills they need.
In addition, in the coming months, when a teen reports a video they think may be against TikTok’s rules, they can choose to alert a parent, caregiver, or other trusted adult at the same time, even if they are not using Family Pairing.
TikTok is also launching a new way to encourage young people to switch off at night. If a teen under 16 is on TikTok after 10pm, their For You feed will be interrupted with the site’s new “wind down feature”.
At launch, this is a full-screen takeover with calming music to help teens relax and be mindful of the time. If a teen decides to spend additional time on TikTok after the first reminder, the site shows a second, harder to dismiss, full-screen prompt. As before, the platform deliberately does not send push notifications to teens at night, which cannot be changed.
TikTok head of operations and trust & safety Adam Presser said: “We have designed these features to reflect best practices in behaviour change theory by providing positive nudges that can help teens develop balanced long-term habits.
“In countries where this has already been piloted, the vast majority of teens decide to keep this reminder on. In the coming weeks, we’ll also test adding meditation exercises to the wind down reminder, as research shows that mindful meditation can improve sleep quality.
“As with any new feature, we look forward to hearing feedback from our community, and to inform our future plans, we’re conducting research with parents and teens around the world to understand how else we can help with the development of balanced habits.”
Meanwhile, TikTok is also launching a joint campaign with Media Smart, the UK advertising and media industry’s education programme, to help reach parents, caregivers and teachers. Together, they have produced a collection of creator-led videos and resources to help people have positive conversations around a teen’s online environment.
The campaign is particularly aimed at adults who may not have strong digital literacy, or those who are not yet on social media, and will launch in the UK,
The campaign, which kicks off in the UK before being rolled out to Germany, Sweden and France, is aimed at adults who do not have great digital literacy skills themselves, those whose teens are not yet on social media, or parents of teens who have recently reached the age to join TikTok. It will also reach 13-18-year-olds directly via content on the platform itself.
Media Smart worked with youth creative agency Livity to develop the creative, alongside young people and parents from concept to delivery. They selected six ambassadors for the campaign: young creators (aged 18+) and parent creators, to deliver bespoke content.
Media Smart and Livity surveyed parents across the UK and found that while 65% of felt fairly confident in managing screen time, 70% would like to learn more about safety tools and features on platforms.
This informed the three key areas that ‘Teens, Social Media & You’ will address: staying safe online, specific tools and features such as Family Pairing, and healthier habits.
Alongside the videos, a downloadable guide is available on Media Smart’s website, which answers commonly asked questions around screen time and mental wellbeing, helping teens deal with harmful content online and identifying what’s okay to share.
Media Smart UK director Rachel Barber-Mack said: “It has never been more critical to support parents’ understanding of their young people’s online environment, particularly following the pandemic which led to a significant increase in daily screen-time.
“We’re pleased to partner again with TikTok and Livity, building on the success of our ‘Adverts, Creators and You’ campaign, to encourage parents and teens to engage in more offline conversations about online safety.”
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