Instagram's testing a new tool to help you manage your addiction

Put your phone down and go outside

It's no secret that social media is addictive. As per a Harvard University study, browsing online activates the same area of the brain that is stimulated while using an addictive substance. I know I've often found myself scrolling aimlessly through Instagram, Twitter, or TikTok whenever I'm bored. Of course, this is not healthy behavior. We also need to keep time for ourselves, off-screen and off socials, even if it can be hard to find the willpower by yourself. Instagram is planning a new feature called "Take a Break" to make it a little bit easier.

Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, announced the change on his Twitter account. Once enabled, the app will remind you to take a break after spending between 10 to 30 minutes browsing. You just put how much time you want to spend in the app for each scrolling session, and after that allotment has passed, it will remind you to lay down and take a breath, be productive, or do anything other than keep using the app for the moment. It's a simple tool, but one that can help you fight your social media addiction.

In a way, it's similar to Digital Wellbeing, a feature added by Google starting with Android 9 Pie. Using Digital Wellbeing, you can keep tabs on your smartphone usage and tell your phone to remind you to disconnect if you've spent too much time using it. It's entirely opt-in, but as someone who suffers from heavy social media addiction and has trouble concentrating, I could already see myself using it.

Instagram is currently testing the feature, and if you're part of the beta group, you should get a prompt to set your break time in the next few days. As for a final release, Mosseri says to expect it to reach all users in December, but that'll obviously depend on how these initial tests go.

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