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TikTok announces feature that will limit teens screen time

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A number of brand-new features have been unveiled by TikTok with the goal of lowering screen time and enhancing the well-being of its younger users.

Every TikTok user under the age of 18 will soon automatically be subject to a daily screen time restriction of 60 minutes, reported The Verge. Teenagers who exceed this cap are required to input a passcode in order to continue watching. Users can completely turn off the feature, but if they do and use TikTok for more than 100 minutes each day, they’ll be prompted to set a new cap.

After the first month of testing, TikTok reports that these reminders raised the utilisation of its screen time control tools by 234%. Teens will also receive a weekly inbox message that summarises their screen time, making it possible for younger users to be aware of how much time they spend using the app and forcing them to actively choose to exceed the advised screen time.

On determining how long the time restriction should be, TikTok claims it consulted specialists from the Digital Wellbeing Lab at Boston Children’s Hospital and recent academic research.

“While there’s no collectively-endorsed position on how much screen time is ‘too much’, or even the impact of screen time more broadly, we recognise that teens typically require extra support as they start to explore the online world independently,” said Cormac Keenan, Head of Trust and Safety at TikTok, in a statement.

Children under the age of 13 who use “TikTok for Younger Users” will also be subject to the 60-minute time limit. In this case, if the screen time limit is surpassed, a parent or guardian must set and enter an existing passcode to permit 30 minutes of additional watch time on the account.

Four new features are also being added to Family Pairing, TikTok’s adjustable parental restrictions that allow a parent or guardian to attach their TikTok account to a younger user’s account. Applying custom limitations enables constraints to be changed according to the day of the week (or more widely extended over school holidays).

TikTok’s screen time dashboard, which displays how much time a child has spent using the app, how frequently it was opened, and a breakdown of how much time was spent during the day and night, is also accessible to family pairing users. Parents will soon be able to schedule the muting of app notifications on their children’s accounts using a new “Mute Notifications” setting. Users between the ages of 13 and 15 already have push notifications muted automatically at 9 pm, and those between the ages of 16 and 17 have push notifications turned off at 10 PM.

Last but not least, TikTok claims to be working on new content filters that would let parents filter out videos that contain phrases or hashtags they don’t want their kids to see. With “parents, youth, and civil society organisations,” the business will design the feature during the ensuing weeks.

In addition to Family Pairing, TikTok announced that some of these settings will be broadly accessible to all accounts “soon,” enabling any user to schedule muted notifications and create unique screen time limits for each day of the week. Users can choose a time to be reminded to close the app and go to bed by using the new sleep reminder feature.

The precise release date for the new features has not been specified by TikTok.

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Instagram, WhatsApp, and Reality Labs layoffs are announced by Meta

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Instagram, WhatsApp, and Reality Labs divisions of tech behemoth Meta have all announced layoffs.

Part of the company’s continuous endeavour to match resources with its long-term strategic goals and location plan is the decision that was made on Wednesday.

The long-term goal of the adjustments, according to a statement from Meta, is to keep the business competitive. “Today, a few teams at Meta are making changes to ensure resources are aligned with their long-term strategic goals and location strategy,” said the statement. Though attempts would be made to assist affected staff in securing other opportunities, the corporation stated that although some employees will move to different roles, others may find their positions abolished.

Despite not disclosing the precise number of layoffs, Meta seems to be carrying out CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s “Year of Efficiency,” which he started in the previous year. In an effort to reduce costs overall and shift its attention away from the Metaverse, Meta has eliminated over 10,000 workers since making that announcement.

Curiously, the second quarter’s financial results beat expectations, and this was announced right after the layoffs. That being said, the decision to restructure its virtual reality hardware and software operations was probably influenced by the department’s continued significant losses.

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Adobe unveils the Firefly AI video creator.

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Adobe has enhanced its Firefly Video Model by introducing an AI-driven video generator to augment its creative apps.

The Adobe Firefly Video Model will boost the functionalities of creative tools such as Photoshop, Illustrator, Adobe Express, and Premiere Pro.

Ely Greenfield, chief technology officer of digital media at Adobe, stated, “The adoption of Firefly in our creative applications has been substantial, and it is inspiring to observe how the creative community has utilised it to expand the limits of possibility.” “We are excited to provide creative professionals with additional tools for ideation and creation, all engineered to ensure commercial safety.”

The inaugural Generative Extend tool for Premiere Pro is currently accessible in beta, enabling users to prolong clips by a maximum of two seconds at resolutions of 720p or 1080p at 24 FPS.

Users will furthermore have the capability to utilise the program to augment audio, prolonging sound effects by up to ten seconds.

Furthermore, Adobe is launching two new web-based video production tools: Text-to-Video and Image-to-Video.

These tools are currently accessible in a restricted public beta within the Firefly online application.

According to Adobe, the Firefly Video Model is currently in a restricted public beta on their website.

Individuals wishing to utilise the new tools must currently join the waitlist, while generations remain complimentary during this period.

The company announced that it will provide additional details regarding Firefly AI video generation offerings and pricing following its formal public launch.

The news occurred weeks after Meta introduced Movie Gen, an AI-driven tool for generating realistic movie clips.

The program will utilise a text prompt to produce 16-second films accompanied by synced AI-generated audio.

Meta has stated that Movie Gen will create personalised artificial intelligence videos utilising only one photograph.

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Pakistan’s first multi-mission satellite has started operational.

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The inaugural multi-mission satellite of Pakistan, PAKSAT MM1, has been successfully operationalized with the assistance of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC).

The operationalization of the satellite represents a significant milestone in the nation’s space and digital growth framework.

The success of PAKSAT-MM1 will revolutionize Pakistan’s communication infrastructure, benefiting multiple IT sectors.

The satellite will deliver services including television broadcasting, mobile telecommunications, community internet access, and tele-education to enhance local enterprises.

This satellite will enhance internet coverage in remote regions, advancing the government’s objective of Digital Pakistan.

Pakistan has ascended 14 positions in the United Nations E-Governance Development Index. The country currently ranks 136th overall, an improvement from 150th in 2022.

Pakistan’s historic lunar mission (ICUBE-Q) was launched on May 3 aboard China’s Chang’E6 from Hainan, China.

The iCube-Qamar satellite project is Pakistan’s inaugural lunar exploration initiative, constituting a key achievement in the nation’s space endeavors.

The satellite iCube-Q was conceived and created by the Institute of Space Technology (IST) in partnership with Shanghai University SJTU of China and Pakistan’s national space agency SUPARCO.

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