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New Comcast feature limits the amount of time kids spend on the internet

Clayton Moore
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Screen time is a pretty serious thing to manage for adults who are addicted to social networks, constant communication, and Candy Crush — so imagine how it is being a kid in the internet age. When I was young, you were just happy if all the volumes of the Encyclopedia Britannica were at the library. Now imagine being a smart young person who has literally never lived in an age without smartphones and has access to nearly all the information the world has to offer.

It’s a worrying issue for a lot of parents but Comcast is trying to help with a new parental control feature that can set a time limit on how long kids (or anyone else, for that matter) can be online.

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“Xfiniity xFi was designed to provide simple tools to help our customers see and control all the things connected to their home Wi-Fi network,” said David Puckett, vice president of xFi and Digital Security Product Management. “As a dad with four kids, I know how hard it can be to keep tabs on how long everyone has been online every day, especially during the summer. This latest feature is a great way for parents to better manage their children’s screen time.”

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Comcast’s kid control feature is pretty easy to use:

  • Go to the main xFi page and select the kid’s account or profile.
  • Scroll down and tap Edit next to Active Time Limits.
  • “Check either Weekdays or Weekends to activate the days you want your children to access the home Wi-Fi network. Here, you can toggle the daily time limit. When the time is up, the kid is cut off.
  • You can also unpause the setting or set a new time limit.

According to a study by Common Sense Media, the majority of modern parents (close to 70 percent), feel that their teens use their mobile devices too much.

If you’re a Comcast customer, this new feature is a good way to personalize, troubleshoot, monitor, and control your Wi-Fi network and keep an eye on your kids’ access to all the weird stuff available at the click of a mouse.

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Clayton Moore
Clayton Moore
Contributor
Clayton Moore’s interest in technology is deeply rooted in the work of writers like Warren Ellis, Cory Doctorow and Neal…
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