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

By Clayton Moore August 5, 2019

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.

“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.”

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

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