YouTube Shorts Just Got a Bedtime (Sort Of)

YouTube just rolled out a new feature for Shorts that's basically the digital version of your phone saying, "Okay buddy, that's enough scrolling for today."

Mobile users can now set a custom daily limit on how long they can spend watching Shorts - a nice little way to stop yourself from falling into that "just one more clip" black hole that somehow lasts three hours. Once you hit your limit, Shorts will pause for the day and show you a friendly little reminder that it's time to, you know… touch grass or something.

Of course, the limit is optional and totally dismissible - so if you're like me, you'll probably hit "dismiss" while muttering "yeah yeah, just one more." But it's a nice gesture. TikTok and Instagram have similar tools, though YouTube says it'll take this further later this year by expanding it to parental controls, which will actually make the limit non-dismissable.

It's part of YouTube's mission to help people be more "intentional" with their viewing habits. Personally, I think it's adorable that YouTube assumes we have that kind of self-control - but hey, I'll take the effort.