If you have a Facebook account, you might have an Instagram account, too. This last week I was thinking that my kids are spending too much time on their social media platforms. This is not only a problem for our kids but even for us adults. My main time-drain is Instagram. I tend to get carried away scrolling through posts and videos and lose track of time. In this article, I was thinking that we need to figure out a way to manage our time better. Something to keep us from losing ourselves in an app or game and not taking those important breaks. If you know me, I figured out that Instagram gives you some options to help remind you to take those breaks. Before we jump into this, make sure to check out these other articles I have written about this platform:
- How To Add To Favorites On Instagram
- How To Archive Posts On Instagram
- How To Manage Saved Instagram Posts
- How To Save Instagram Posts
- How To Turn Off Instagram AutoSave
Now that is out of the way; let’s begin our new lesson.
How To Manage Your Time On Instagram
This will be shown on my Motorola Edge Android phone using the app.
Step 1: Find your Instagram App on your device and tap it.
Step 2: Once in the app, look to the bottom right for your profile image. Tap it.
Step 3: On your profile page, look to the top right for the Menu link. Tap it.
Step 4: A menu will appear at the bottom of the screen. Tap on the Settings and privacy link.
Step 5: Here on the Settings and privacy page we want to find the link called Time spent. This is under the section called, How you use Instagram. Tap it.
Step 6: Here is where you will find all the options to manage your time on this app. On this screen, you are given three choices plus a graph on the daily average time you spend here. The three choices under Manage your Time:
- Set reminder to take breaks (Schedule a reminder to take regular breaks from scrolling)
- Set daily time limit (Limit the time your spend on Instagram each day by scheduling a reminder to close the app)
- Notification Settings (Choose which Instagram notifications to get. You can also mute push notifications)
I won’t go over the first two on this list. Tap on Set Reminder to Take breaks.
Step 7: Here they give your three options to choose from:
- Every 10 Minutes
- Every 20 Minutes
- Every 30 minutes
Tap the one you want and tap the Turn on button at the bottom. Now the Reminders are set up to tell you to take that break. Time to move on to the next one on the list – Set daily time limit.
Step 8: On this one, you are offered a few more choices than the last one:
- 15 minutes
- 30 minutes
- 45 minutes
- 1 hour
- 2 hours
- Off
Once you have chosen the time you want, tap the Done button at the bottom. Now, remember this is a reminder option and it will not turn off the app when the time is up – only remind you to do so. Like your mom telling you to get off your device. There is one more option and that has to do with the Notifications but I will let you mess around with that one yourself.
You now know how to set your reminders on your Instagram app. This will be helpful by keeping you from spending too much time on your account. Time to share this new knowledge with all your friends and family.
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