I Used Grayscale on My Phone to Curb Phone Addiction – Here's How it Went

My handset was my fulcra source of dopamine, especially during the hours before and also after occupational. After certifying how much this habit motivated my veteran and also family exuberance, I ultimately risked the newfangled-made grayscale fulcra to curb my handset dependency. Listed under is how it went:

How Grayscale Can Assistances Curb Handset Dependency

The grayscale mode on your handset rotates off all shades and also instead makes earn service of of miscellaneous tones of gray to denote shade seriousness. It essentially renders your handset lazy like an E-ink tools. This interrupts your brain’s payoff mechanism as it’s hardwired to respond to fierce and also filled shades.

Innumerable habit forming apps like Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and also so on., manipulate super filled shade palettes namely designed to trigger constant dopamine unleashes. By eradicating away these shades, grayscale interrupts the brain’s payoff mechanism, bring out the content feel endearing less igniting and also habit forming.

This helps curb handset dependency by bring out habit forming content less intriguing. You’ll be less astounded in picking upwards the handset when it doesn’t provision the pleasure you suppose. In addition, since the real planet is complete of shades, you’ll in a akin means value off-brandish time extra.

My Grayscale Experiment, and also How It Went

I literally offered 2 recognize arrangements during my experiment. Initially, I risked making it possible for grayscale systemwide 24/7, but I didn’t recognize it super effective. So after that, I swapped to a revised arrangement that more described suit my last bargains. I am issuing both arrangements under so you can progress the correct one as per your last bargains:

Gleaning earn service of of Grayscale all the Time

For the initially three days, I offered the default shade-reclamation choice on my Android handset to enable grayscale systemwide. You can in a akin means implement this by seeing Installments → Access Installments → Sight → Color Correction and also select Grayscale. iOS users can obtain entailed in Installments → Access → Sport & Message Size → Color Filters and also enable Grayscale.

But, I figured out I started receiving offered to ordering utilise of my handset with grayscale made it possible for and also didn’t subconscious doomscrolling also when it was less trafficable.

Next off, I swapped to a per-app-basis humdrum.

Permit Grayscale For Particular Apps Lone

I swapped to making it possible for grayscale only when I opened an app that was habit forming in nature; in my case, it was Reddit, Instagram, and also YouTube. This permitted my brain not to avail offered to the grayscale interface and also plainly marked apps that were “negative” for me.

I offered the Gray-Button Android app to implement this. It uses mechanism-wide grayscale and also then lets you filter out apps that you wear’t want to consumption grayscale on. I offered it to filter out all my occupational and also reign apps like Google Maps, Webcam, Calendar, Gmail, and also so on. It does call for an initial proceeded arrangement ordering utilise of an ADB command, but it’s straightforward to implement with the app’s policies.

iOS users can consumption the Earlier means app to layout an automatic trigger to enable the grayscale shade filter on an app departure. Render sure you layout a trigger for app comfy as seamlessly to fully automate the process.

Listed under’s a day-by-day run-with of my debacle:

• Day 1-3: At initially, it truly fingered like my handset was damaged. That sensation turned to run-in when I saw whatever was grayscale, involving the maps and also the web cam app. While it dulled the “fun” apps, it in a akin means lended the basic ones putting off to consumption. Unbelievably, by day three, I had accustomed and also returned ordering utilise of the fun apps whenever I was emancipate.
• Day 4-7: This is when I swapped to a per-app grayscale arrangement and also started seeing real merits. The sensation of switching to a fun app, and also it turning lazy correct in front of me, kneaded as a trigger that “this app is negative”. The greatest motivate I figured out was that I was no longer doomscrolling. My brain wasn’t bring out queries for extra of unmodified riddling things, and also I can skip any kind of time I ached.
• Week 2: A week of handset consumption with grayscale turned my impulsive handset behaviour correct into aware verdicts. I’m no longer receiving wasted in feeds, which owns released upwards my itinerary and also, extra importantly, preserved my emphasis. Launching occupational without a “dopamine high” owns lended a planet of argument in my efficiency.

Will Grayscale Assistances Curb Handset Dependency for Nice?

After 2 weeks of ordering utilise of grayscale, one point is information: I wouldn’t want to live with a anemic brandish forever. In reality, it owns been six days since I swapped earlier to complete shade, yet the motivate lingers. The highest you can probably picture merit is the newfound aptitude to claim “no” to aimless scrolling; I am completely extra willful around in which my time and also curiosity go.

But, I wouldn’t call this a treatment for handset dependency; rather, it’s a tricky reset for your brain’s payoff mechanism that reprieves your dependency on never-finishing digital stimulation. You will certainly still have to practice digital mindfulness, but you’ll recognize it much simpler to stay disciplined when your brain is no longer yearning that artificial dopamine hit.

If you threat this experiment, I motivate ordering utilise of the Digital Wellness app to track your progress. If grayscale isn’t sufficient, ponder switching to a minimalist launcher or eradicating social media completely.