I doubt Instagram and YouTube are adding these “screen time analytics” and TikTok is making ads that encourage you to take a break from the app out of the kindness of their hearts and genuine concern for our wellbeing…. right? Is this a result of some kind of law, mandating that these kinds of features have to exist? Or does this actually help their business somehow?
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It’s pre-empting the law, just like how the video game industry formed the ESRB and voluntarily rated their own games.
There was a lot of real concern and hyperbolic nonsense when games like Mortal Kombat came out, and the industry was deeply concerned that punishing regulations and consumer backlash would come if they didn’t self-police.
Today social media companies are taking the same steps after seeing a rising tide of concerns among governments and parents.
They want to be able to say that they take efforts to limit damage from their products in case the government come a knocking. Basically they’re just covering their bases. It’s a demand that came out of the legal department.
Like others have said it delays government crackdown on firms, but there’s also a certain benefit to getting the customer to moderate themselves. It reduces the odds that they burn out and leave the platform. A similar effect is observable in many mobile games, where players are moderated from overusing the software by stamina systems and such. Instead of playing nonstop for several days and then never again, it encourages a routine interaction with the game, improving retention. For those truly committed to playing the hell out of it, they add microtransactions that restore your ability to engage with the game. This is only a few steps ahead of how social media engagement loops work.
Without it people might decide that if they can’t do it themselves they’ll just quit using the app completely. Better reduced than zero. It’s like cigarettes having “light” versions.
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