One of my New Year’s Resolutions I made at the end of last year was to decrease my screen time, as I had slowly been doing over the course of high school and starting college. One thing that made a significant impact on my journey of taking my life back from my phone was turning on black and white mode.
Making change manageable
The idea of quitting your phone, or even quitting social media, may seem extremely difficult or even impossible. But you don’t immediately have to jump to swapping your cellphone for a flip phone to defeat your screen dependency. Turning your phone to black and white mode is a manageable yet effective first step, and for some, that can be all that is necessary to curb their usage. The transition from bright colors to black and white is very jarring, but you don’t have to vow to never see the rainbow from your phone ever again. Every so often, I will turn the colors back on, so my brain has time to readjust once it gets used to my phone being grayed. I will also temporarily turn grayscale off whenever my friends send me pictures from a hangout, so I can see them in their full glory.
Less interesting phone, more interesting life
The biggest change that my turning my phone to grayscale made was the difference in stimuli. I felt less inclined to watch videos on my phone, doomscrolling felt less engaging, and overall, my phone felt boring. If screen time is sugar to my brain, then my phone in grayscale is a sugar-free version. It can still be addictive, but not nearly to the same extent. I physically felt less attached to the visuals on my phone, and I was able to be more present when interacting with others, as well as less distracted by it when I was doing tasks on my own.
other helpful tips
Grayscale isn’t the only way to decrease your screen time without getting rid of your phone. There are applications that can be downloaded that will set limits for social media or game apps, which are also immensely helpful. That way, you can stay connected with others online without accidentally letting five hours slip away while you’re on TikTok. It is also important to be mindful of why you choose to engage with certain games or social media platforms. I used to be a frequent user of YikYak, a platform that resembles Reddit but is most popular on college campuses. I found being on YikYak added nothing to my life other than hours to my daily screen time average, so I deleted it. Whereas with Instagram, I get more out of being a part of it, such as keeping in contact with old friends and sharing humor and inspiration.
takeaways in taking back my life
All in all, nothing bad happens from decreasing your screen time, but immense benefits will reveal themselves. I am better at maintaining eye contact, my friendships and community that I have built around me in my life have become so much stronger, and I am much more fulfilled in my life. Not to mention the increase in productivity and creativity. I was able to get back into reading, sewing, painting, and other crafts once I let up the time that was previously wasted in bed scrolling. Now, I still find myself doomscrolling often and stuck on my phone occasionally- that has unfortunately been built into our modern infrastructure by tech companies. But compared to my high school self who had more than double the daily average screen time than I do today, my life has completely turned around.Â
Can’t get enough of HC UMass Amherst? Be sure to follow us on Instagram, listen to us on Spotify, like us on Facebook, and read our latest Tweets!