RSPH has welcomed the announcement from Facebook and Instagram that they will be providing users of their apps with new optional features, to help them control their use. 

Facebook and Instagram users will now be able to opt-in to view an activity report, showing how much time they have spent on the apps on each of the past seven days. There will also be an option for users to set an alert notifying them when they have spent a set period of time on the app, and to set a timer to switch off push notifications for periods of 15 minutes to eight hours.

A pop-up usage notification was recommended by RSPH’s #StatusOfMind report in May 2017. These new features may help people taking part in RSPH’s new campaign, Scroll Free September, who are aiming to cut down their social media use for the good of their mental health and wellbeing. RSPH is also currently running an inquiry with the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Social Media and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing to see what further steps should be taken by social media companies, and by government.

Ed Morrow, External Affairs Manager at RSPH said: “We are keen for social media companies to be part of the solution when it comes to making their platforms more positive places for mental health and wellbeing, so it is very encouraging to see Facebook and Instagram taking steps in the right direction by implementing these measures.

We have previously called for the introduction of a pop-up heavy usage warning on social media platforms, so it is especially good to see Facebook taking these recommendations on board with the introduction of features alerting users when they have exceeded a set limit.

Measures to protect users from nagging push notifications are also very welcome, but a lot depends on exactly how these measures are implemented. We would like to see settings that help people manage their use and promote positive mental health and wellbeing enabled by default and prominently signposted, rather than leaving the responsibility with users to opt-in to changes that may be buried and hard to access, or that need to be repeatedly reactivated.”