TikTok’s new meditation feature targets teens late-night doomscrolling

16 May 2025, 22:26 | Updated: 17 May 2025, 00:15

Young woman using mobile phone in dark room at home — TikTok's new feature is named 'Meditation in Sleep Hours'. Picture: Alamy

By Alice Brooker

TikTok is to introduce a meditation exercise feature for teens scrolling past 10pm.

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TikTok is set to launch a meditation feature in the face of lawsuits and criticism over the app’s effect on children.

The social media giant said the new in-app relaxation exercises are aimed at improving sleep quality for under 18s, but these users can choose to dismiss the meditation prompts when it is triggered at 10pm.

However, if teens choose to ignore it the messages, TikTok will later show another prompt that is harder to dismiss to encourage them to switch off.

The meditation exercises will be available for all users, with adults given the option of switching it on and off, but it is a default setting for teens.

The announcement comes amid public pressure and lawsuits on the social media giant concerning its impact on young users.

The meditation feature will interrupt scrolling at 10pm for those aged under 18. Picture: Alamy

TikTok's announcement said: "If a teen decides to use TikTok after 10pm, their For You feed will be interrupted by a guided meditation exercise, helping them wind down for the night."

If a teen decides spend more time on the app after the first prompt, they will be met with a second "harder to dismiss, full-screen prompt", which can also be ignored.

"If you're over 18, you can turn on Sleep Hours in TikTok's settings under 'Screen Time'," the statement added.

Whether teens will actually engage with the feature, named “Meditation in Sleep Hours”, remains to be seen.

The app has come under fire recently as as Big Tech faces increasing pressure to prioritise young people. Picture: Alamy

In the feature's testing phase, TikTok said "98 percent of the teens kept the meditation experience switched on", but this doesn't mean these users necessarily participated in the meditation.

TikTok also launched parental monitoring tools and app limits for teens in March 2025, enabling parents more control over screen time and the ability to see followers on children's accounts.

Alongside Thursday's announcement, TikTok also said it was donating $2.3 million of its Mental Health Education Fund in ad credits to 31 mental health organisations.