Instagram wants you “take a break” with their new opt-in feature

Instagram is testing a new feature called ‘Take a Break’ and it does exactly what you think it does. It’s an opt-in feature that will give you reminders every 10, 20, or 30 minutes to close Instagram.

In an announcement video, Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri said that this feature is “part of a broader effort to try and give people more control over their experience of Instagram.”

How would ‘Take a Break’ work?

If you have the feature, you would see a small window saying “Want a break?” where you can set your break reminder with a choice of either 10, 20, or 30 minutes.

When the time is up, Instagram will say “Time for a break?”, telling you to “take a moment to reset by closing Instagram.”

Instagram has also teamed up with third-party experts to get the best tips for your social media break. They suggest the following:

• Take a few deep breaths
• Write down what you’re thinking
• Listen to your favourite song
• Do something on your to-do list

This feature is opt-in, but Instagram will be “sending teens a notification urging them to turn it on,” which is Instagram’s way of fighting against the backlash Facebook received this year.

Back in October, whistleblower Frances Haugen came out with a statement about how Facebook would rather “make more money” than fix its “hateful platform”. Facebook also came out with internal research saying that Instagram is “worse for teen girls”, inciting stress and body image issues.

‘Take a Break’ will be rolling out to a small percentage of users this week, but it will be fully launched in a month or two once they are comfortable launching it.

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