TikTok testing sleep reminders feature

  • TikTok is testing new sleep reminders that are designed to help put TikTok users in better control of their app usage.
  • The new feature includes an option that allows the user to set up alerts when it’s your bedtime.
  • The new feature will also enable users to mute notifications during the seven hours of recommended sleep to avoid distractions.
  • After you choose a sleep time, you will be prompted to close the app when the clock reaches that time.
  • For more on this story, please visit the Tech Crunch website.

Seattle schools sue tech giants over social media harm

  • The public school district in Seattle has filed a lawsuit against tech companies behind TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and YouTube.
  • They blame social media platforms for worsening mental health and behavioural disorders, including cyberbullying, depression, anxiety and disordered eating.
  • Schools in Seattle have been finding it difficult to educate their children and have had to develop lesson plans on the effects of social media and trained their teachers to deliver them.
  • They have also been forced to hire more mental health professionals to combat the impacts of social media on students.
  • The lawsuit says that from 2009 to 2019, on average there was a 30% increase in the number of students who reported feeling “so sad or hopeless almost every day for two weeks or more in a row” that they stopped doing some usual activities.
  • For more on this story, please visit the Independent’s website.

Schools hit by cyber-attack and documents leaked

  • The BBC has revealed that highly confidential documents from 14 schools have been leaked online by hackers.
  • These documents include children’s SEN information, child passport scans, staff pay scales and contract details from 2021 and 2022.
  • They were targeted by a hacking group called Vice Society which has been behind a high-profile string of attacks on schools across the UK and the USA.
  • When data is stolen, the hacking group makes demands for money before leaking the documents if a payment is not made.
  • For more, go to the BBC’s website.