Turn your iPhone GREY to beat smartphone addiction with this simple screen hack
TURNING your phone black and white could be the way to beat your smartphone addiction.
Experts now reckon putting your iPhone in greyscale mode will make you use the handset less.
Just last month, The Sun revealed how Aussie mums were using the "greyscale" trick to reduce their kids' screen time.
The idea is that removing the alluring colours from your iPhone will make you want to use it less.
Speaking to the , marketing expert Mack McKelvey, of SalientMG, said phone makers use design tricks to keep you hooked.
"You don't buy black-and-white cereal boxes, you buy the really stimulating coloured one," she explained.
Mack went on: "And these apps have developed really cool tiles, cool shapes, cool colours, all designed to stimulate you.
"But there's a vibrant world out there, and my phone shouldn't be it."
She decided to make the switch to greyscale – but found it difficult to actually activate the setting.
"It took like 40 minutes to figure it out. They buried the setting," she said.
"You have to really want to do it."
And NYT journalist Nellie Bowles also switched to greyscale, and found it reduced her phone usage.
"I've been grey for a couple of days, and it's remarkable how well it has eased my twitchy phone checking," she wrote.
Phones in black and white – a simple guide
Here's what you need to know...
How to turn your iPhone greyscale:
- To activate greyscale on the iPhone, you need to turn on Colour Filters
- First, launch the Settings app, then go into General
- Next, navigate to Accessibility and then Display Accommodations
- Select Colour Filters and you'll see a list of options
- You want to choose Greyscale
- This will turn your iPhone screen's colours black and white
- You can change back to colour at any time by going into the same Settings menu
How to turn your Android greyscale:
- First, go into Settings then About Phone
- Tap on the Build Number several times until you see a message telling you that you're now a developer
- This means that Developer Options has been enabled
- Now go back into Settings and tap on Developer Options near the bottom of the page
- Scroll down and tap on Simulate Colour Space
- Tap on it and choose Monochromacy from the pop-up list
- You can switch this setting off at any time
It's not an entirely new concept, of course.
Last year, tech firm Mozilla about the idea of "going grey" to reduce phone addiction.
Two of the companies staffers turned their devices into black-and-white mode – and it worked.
In a blog post, brand strategist Daniel explained: "I know we agreed to try it for a week, but I'm staying with greyscale.
"It's working for me. I don't reach for my phone as much. My video consumption is way down. I've got more cash in the pockets of my Levi's.
"These are good things. Heck, maybe I'll even start leaving my phone out of the bedroom, something I've been saying I would do since I got my first iPhone."
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Do you have any tips or tricks for a successful digital detox? Let us know in the comments!
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