I don’t know that this will be a majorly useful, or much-used option. But TikTok has launched a new calendar template that’s designed to help children and families better coordinate and manage their weekly online and offline activities.
As you can see in this example, TikTok’s new “For You Calendar” aims to help families coordinate their lives, and include time for family connection, all in one simple template.
As explained by TikTok:
“This physical weekly planner is a space designed for families to connect each week to plan, reflect, and have open conversations about how they spend their time both online and offline - from activities to time ‘for you.’ It gives parents and teens a simple way to talk about building balanced digital habits, whatever that looks like for them, alongside the plans they're already making.”
So, conceptually at least, it’s supposed to have something to do with balancing time online and offline, though what actual impact it has will be relative to the user.
The calendar was designed by TikTok creator Linda Tong, who hand-illustrates stationery “that makes organization both fun and accessible.”
Yeah, I don’t know. Conceptually, TikTok’s trying to associate its brand with better work/life balance, and awareness of time spent online.
But in reality, is anybody actually going to use this as intended, and will that have any impact on online interaction?
Online worlds are where teens spend the majority of their time these days, with kids being far more likely to connect on Snapchat than they are to meet up on their bikes.
Which is kind of where proposals like this fail, that just because people might yearn for the old days, where kids would climb trees and make cubby houses, that doesn’t mean that they can bring them back, by force, by simply cutting down screen time or mapping out a more specific online/offline approach.
Of course, it’s good for parents to maintain an awareness of their kids’ screen time, and to manage such within reason. But it’s also such a critical connector these days, that it’s hard for those who didn’t grow up with social media and gaming to understand the reliance that teens have on these as essential social connectors.
Add to this the fact that COVID made this the only means of connection for many of the current younger generation, and that linkage to online platforms is compounded, making it a critical tool in many respects.
So while tools like this are well-intentioned, I’m not sure that they’re practical, though at the same time, I guess anything is worth trying out if you’re looking for ways to better manage your teens’ time.
And maybe the TikTok branding will help to make this more resonant with your youngsters, and I’m just being overly skeptical.
You can find out for yourself.
You can download the free TikTok For You Calendar from lindatongplanners.com.
