It's interesting when an app that's infamously known for our doomscrolling tendencies is trying to polish their image by improving their moderation tools and in particular features aimed at managing screen time.
TikTok, purveyor of addictive short-form videos, is introducing guided meditation exercises for its entire community to help you sleep better.
TikTok Wants You To SLEEP
TikTok's been dabbling in screen time management for a while now. Parents can already set limits and schedules, and anyone can use sleep reminders to try and get more shut-eye. If you used these reminders, TikTok would even stop sending you notifications after your bedtime to minimise distractions. And kids aged 13 to 17 years old, those push notifications were automatically silenced at night.
In a recent trial programme, the company found that 98% of participating teenagers kept the meditation experience active during nocturnal hours. With research indicating that mindful meditation can indeed enhance sleep quality across all age groups, TikTok is now rolling out "Meditation in Sleep Hours" to its entire user base.
How It Works
For teenagers under the age of 18, this feature will be switched on by default after 10pm.
Come 10pm, your "For You" page will be greeted by a calming screen, accompanied by soothing music and a guided meditation designed to promote relaxation and ease the transition to sleep. Continued engagement with the app beyond this initial prompt will trigger a subsequent, more prominent, full-screen notification.
To access this feature, users are required to navigate to their profile settings, select the "Screen Time" option, and subsequently toggle on the "Sleep Hours" function. Adults will have the option to activate "Sleep Hours" at their own discretion.
TikTok's new feature seems to be a potentially intriguing, if somewhat ironic, attempt to address the sleep deficit among users. Whether the app can effectively encourage its users towards a more peaceful night remains to be seen.
One thing's for sure: the irony is not lost on us.
Stay updated with ProductNation on here, Instagram & TikTok as well.
News sources: TikTok Newsroom
More related recommendations