Staying up all night watching TikTok videos is not a good idea, especially if you're a teenager that needs to be up and alert for school or college the next day. With that in mind, TikTok is now rolling out an experimental feature for all users, effectively setting a 10 p.m. bedtime for anyone under 18.
It works like this: Once the clock hits 10 p.m, teenage TikTok users attempting to scroll will be directed to a "guided meditation exercise." This initial prompt can be ignored, but TikTok says that any teens who do will end up seeing a "harder to dismiss" prompt instead.
This initial prompt can be ignored, but TikTok says that any teens who do will end up seeing a "harder to dismiss" prompt instead.
It's basically TikTok telling its younger users to get off the app, and wind down after a long day. The app requires users to be 13 years old to create an account and 16 in order to use direct messaging.
TikTok claims that its initial tests of "Sleep Hours" ended up with 98% of teens keeping this particular setting switched on. It's enabled by default, though it isn't clear whether teenagers will have the option to turn Sleep Hours off in the settings.
Because if they could, it would defeat the purpose of having it — especially for the kids who need to get off TikTok the most. So if you do have a kid with TikTok, be sure that the parental controls are switched on.
Adults who want to take part in these guided pre-sleep meditation sessions can. Just switch on the Sleep Hours feature in the settings. Because it's not just the youngsters that need their beauty sleep.
If you need to be up to get ready for work at 6am, then the last thing you need is to be scrolling TikTok into the early hours of the morning. Trust me, doing a good job with little-to-no sleep is not a fun experience.
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