Mums claim 'it's the parent's job' as TikTok limits screen time for people under 18

Mums are claiming that it is 'the parent's job' to control their children's screen time, as TikTok announces limits for people under the age of 18.

If you are a TikTok user, then you'll know how addicting the video app can be.

It is an all too often occurrence for a lot of us where we plan on spending 10 minutes on the app before bed, and before you know it, it's 3am and you are still scrolling.

In a bid to combat this, TikTok is adding an automatic 60-minute screen-time limit for all accounts listed as being under the age of 18.

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On Wednesday (1 March), the company announced that the feature would begin to roll out in the coming weeks, with users under 18 needing to enter a passcode if they want to continue to use the app.

TikTok will also be introducing further protections for children by automatically setting profiles belonging to users aged 13 to 15 to be private.

While the social media app automatically sets it to 60 minutes, parents can actually control the exact amount of time their children spend on it, as well as turn off notifications.

Alongside this, only adult users will be allowed to go 'Live' on TikTok, meanwhile, under 16s will not be able to direct message each other.

Cormac Keenan, Head of Trust and Safety at TikTok, said in a statement: "While there's no collectively-endorsed position on how much screen time is 'too much', or even the impact of screen time more broadly, we recognise that teens typically require extra support as they start to explore the online world independently."

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On the official Tyla Facebook account, we asked how people feel about TikTok limiting screen time for under 18s.

And it is fair to say that a lot of mums believe that it should be the parents' job to enforce screen time restrictions rather than the app itself.

One mum said: "It's the parents' job I do TikTok myself but the platform has become extremely toxic. My son's 15, lucky he isn't interested in TikTok but if he was, I would limit his access."

A second added: "That's the parents job. I personally wouldn't allow my kids to have an account."

While a third remarked: "As a parent, you can limit the screen time on any apps. So maybe look into that before expecting someone else to do."

And a fourth said that their friends already 'limit their children's screen time' on the app.

One reader said that children would 'find a way around' the new limit, while another questioned who is 'stating their correct age on that platform'.

What do you think?