Control Your Doom Scrolling with YouTube's New Shorts Timer

Doom scrolling is a real time eater that'll consume your day without you even realizing it. You start with a one Short and when you lift your head up, it's already dark. This is the reason why YouTube made a new timer feature to help users with their streaming consumption, or over-consumption of content. You might think its a small thing but it can help in managing your time and your screen time.

With this new feature, users can set a daily viewing limit for YouTube Shorts by going through the app's settings. Whenever you reach the limit you set, users will see a pop-up that'll pause the feed and reminding them of the limit and it's time to take a break and log out.Of course, the reminder can still be dismissed, but the message is clear—YouTube wants users to be more conscious of their scrolling habits.

This feature has been in the works for a while. Earlier this year, it was spotted in testing, and now it’s officially rolling out. However, it’s worth noting that the timer currently isn’t connected to YouTube’s parental control tools, meaning parents can’t yet set or lock limits for their kids. That functionality is coming next year, when the company plans to make those prompts non-dismissible for child accounts—a move that could make digital well-being features more effective for younger audiences.

YouTube has already done similar things like this, like their "Take a Break" Reminders and "Bedtime" Alerts which subtly reminds users to take a break from their monitors and phones and touch grass or sleep. While these features are entirely optional, they represent YouTube’s growing awareness of how powerful — and potentially addictive — its platform can be.

A question still arises, Do users really reduce their screen time, or do they just skim the reminders giving them a sense or illusion of control? Because users can easily dismiss the prompts, many critics argue that such features allow YouTube to appear socially responsible while still keeping engagement high.

The timing of this update is no coincidence. Social media companies are facing mounting pressure to take responsibility for the effects of their designs, especially on younger users. According to recent reports, thousands of lawsuits have been filed in the U.S. that accuses big tech companies of fostering an addictive environment that contributes to the decline in mental health to children and teens alike.

With the release of this new feature, YouTube acknowledges their users well-being and mental health without threatening their business model that relies heavily on engagement. The effect of this change is yet to be seen, but let's hope that this move is going to the right path to a healthier digital experience. 

This feature can provide users that simple nudge that sometimes, it's okay to take a step back from your screen and take a break.

Source: techcrunch.com