Data from social media agency We Are Social suggests that Chinese people frequently spend more than five hours a day online, two hours of which is on social media. (Photo by=Getty Images) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, will limit the use of the platform for children to 40 minutes a day. The rules will apply to users under 14, who’ve been authenticated using their real names, and who will be able to access it between 06:00 and 22:00.
Parent company Bytedance announced the app’s Youth Mode in a blog post, saying it is the first short-video company in the industry to have these limits. It comes amidst China cracking down on teenagers' use of technology. Douyin's user agreement shows that there’s no minimum age on the platform, but under 18s must obtain the consent of a legal guardian. On sister app TikTok the minimum age is 13. New educational content, like science experiments, museum exhibitions, and historical explainers, has been launched by Douyin as part of Youth Mode.
These regulations on China's version of TikTok have been a long time coming.For the last three years, the official media has been warning that the growing amount of time young Chinese people are spending on the internet is having an impact on their physical and mental health. Douyin, much like TikTok, is particularly popular with young audiences, and so China's top regulator, the Cyberspace Administration of China, has urged it to "create a good cyberspace environment for the healthy development of young people".