In this year’s tech conference WWDC (Worldwide Developer Conference), Apple was the latest technology giant to intact digital wellness feature. Apple unveiled a variety of new features with the powerful one being the Screen Time application. It will allow the iOS 12 users to monitor the time they spend on their devices, set time limits on app usage over a month period and control the notifications. This feature will be handy for parents who want to control their child’s interactions with gadgets. Bloomberg leaked the addition of this feature but the in-depth details were not known till yesterday.
Features Of Digital Wellness
With the new iOS 12, the users might not be worried much about being disturbed by their phones in important situations. One of the important features is a Do Not Disturb mode which will prevent the people looking at their phones at night. With the Do Not Disturb mode, people can customize the notifications which show up. During bedtime and specific hours, the phone can be customized to prevent notifications disturbing the sleep. During daytime, this feature will help when the user doesn’t want to be disturbed in class or meetings. The Do Not Disturb mode can be stopped directly from the Control Center and can be configured further.
Moreover, a “Morning Wake-up Screen” will be displayed to ease the user into the day. Quiet notifications feature is also introduced which will prevent vibration of the phone for specific notifications. Siri is customized to help the users determine which notifications should be made quiet. It works based on the applications which are used rarely. Another important add-on is the grouped notifications feature. It will group the notifications from specific apps together. In this way, the user’s lock screen will not be flooded.
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Screen Time
One of the major addition to the Digital Wellness is Screen Time. It generates reports based on the app usage. Every week, it will generate a report on how the device was used. Further, it will classify the individual app usage. The applications belonging to the same criteria are grouped together and a report is generated. The report will help the users determine their activity on the devices and make better decisions. Siri is synchronized with these reports to suggest the applications whose notifications should be disabled.
Another feature of Screen time is that it lets you set a time limit on app usage. This feature will help the parents monitor their child’s phone usage. When the time is nearly up, the device will prompt with a notification. When the time limit is exhausted, the users can simply extend it from the Control Center. But, the device will keep on nudging the users to take a break from the app even after extending the time limit. This feature will benefit the parents who can create allowances for their children on device usage.
For emergency situations, “Downtown” feature is added which will let the children use critical apps even after exhausting the time limit. However, notifications will not be displayed from the applications which are disabled. The device can be blocked entirely which is useful during bedtime. The app has a Family Sharing feature with it.
Verdict
It is not entirely a new thing in the tech industry. Previously, Google came up with the app usage management to generate such details. Apple says that “The parents can remotely control their kids’ devices”. “Shush”, a new feature which helps to put the device in Do Not Disturb mode on the flip. “Wind Down”, lets the users reduce color at times like at night.
Majority of tech companies are focusing towards Digital Wellness features. Earlier, Facebook modified its NewsFeed so the users spend less time on the website. Instagram also came up with a feature which tells the users that “You’re caught up” to prevent users to spend time scrolling on the newsfeed. The main idea behind Digital Wellness is that people don’t know when to stop. Such tools will only help the people realize the usage and monitor them. Facebook and Google have already stated about the problems internet create on a child’s mind and they want to take some serious steps towards it. Apple’s new features will only help the iOS users monitor themselves.
