Facebook is reportedly developing a great tool for users spending too much time looking up their friends on the social media app.
Soon, users can check how long they have spent online with the ‘Your Time On Facebook’ app.
The feature will monitor the amount of time spent each day for the past seven days on Facebook, calculating a daily average.
Then, using the average, users can set a daily time limit for Facebook, with the app notifying the user when the limit is reached.
The notification will have editable settings, but it remains to be seen if the app will message anyone other then the user when breaking limits – like a parent wishing to control social media access for a child.
Meaningful connections
Facebook has confirmed that the feature is under construction, but has not revealed when the final version will become available.
Facebook did disclose earlier this year that changes to the app had meant people were spending less time on the platform – around 50 million hours – and that this was expected to fall even more as the corporation is encouraging users to develop more meaningful connections rather than just spend time online.
“We’re always working on new ways to help make sure people’s time on Facebook is time well spent,” said a spokesman for the network.
The move aligns Facebook with other internet companies, such as Google and Apple, who have pledged to help users better manage their time online.
Connected and supported
Both tech giants are developing dashboards to help users understand how they are spending time online – and offering notifications or lock-outs once a set limit has been reached.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg argues not all time spent on Facebook is bad.
He says there is a difference between good and bad Facebooking, which is when mindless browsing and video watching may be harmful, but active sharing, commenting and chatting contributes to users feeling more connected and supported.
Unfortunately, the time tracker does not seem to differentiate between the two, so does not help users concentrate on ‘good Facebooking’ while weaning them off the more harmful aspects of social media.