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People say they've broken their phone addiction with one simple change to their settings

You can still use your phone, but you probably won't want to.

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Want to spend less time on your phone? Try this hack.

Much ado has been made about young people spending inordinate amounts of time on their phones, but in reality, people of all ages and generations struggle with smartphone addiction. We use our phones for everything these days, but the utilitarian use of them can quickly be overshadowed by the dopamine hits we get from social media, games, and other apps that are designed to suck us in over and over.

People can try to limit their screen time, but it's hard when our phones are something we legitimately need to use. It's a slippery slope from checking an email to answering a Facebook message to clicking on a video, and then we're off to the races. We can remove apps or use app blockers, but there's an even simpler solution that many people swear by: grayscale.

phones, smartphones, phone display, grayscale, screen time This 1-minute phone hack changed my life.Grayscale Mode:We all need to fight back against the phone addiction that is destroying our attention and focus.Grayscale Mode removes the colors to… | Sahil Bloom | 795 comments www.linkedin.com

A simple switch in your phone's accessibility settings changes the phone from full color to grayscale, and for many people, that's all they needed to break the spell their phone had over them. When you open your phone and are met with a black-and-white screen full of apps, it does two things: 1) It reminds you that you're trying to use your phone less, and 2) It makes using your phone a whole lot less interesting.

The boring look is what makes it so effective; the idea is that our brains don't react to a grayscale screen the way they do to a brightly colored one. A 2023 study found that switching your phone to grayscale was "an effective strategy to reduce screen time and improve digital well-being," and people on Reddit have shared how much switching their phone display to grayscale has helped them:

"Recently, I switched my phone screen to grayscale and reduced the refresh rate to 60 Hz. The real surprise came when I looked up from the screen after a few minutes. Everything around me appeared way more vibrant, like in a radioactive way. It was like reality itself was so oversaturated that it felt surreal, almost cartoonish. For the first time in years, I can honestly say the world around me seems far more vivid and interesting than my phone screen." – EngarReddit

smartphone, screen time, screen addiction, phones, apps Man holding smartphone.via Canva Photos

"Each time I apply grayscale on my phone, I feel less tempted to use it because it's so boring compared to the colors of our world. Our mind is highly influenced by colors (that's why you're more willing to eat a dish that looks vibrant and colorful compared to a shitty mess, even though they have the same taste)." – [deleted]

"Yes! I’ve only had it on for a few hours and everything “looks like 90s” everything is colorful again and normal and feels real like a haze has lifted." – Hot_Necessary_3305

"Yeah, grayscale my phone is the only thing that helped me curb my phone addiction. Now if only I know how to make a shortcut to it. Going all the way to accessibility to change it is a hassle. Sometimes I need to change my phone back for color required task and my eyes will get used to black and white eventually so I have to keep switching it on and off." – American_GrizzlyBear

"My phone automatically switches to grey scale every night at 10pm, helps to discourage scrolling at night." – m333ejm

"Turned it on and instantly found myself less interested in scrolling. I completely get what you mean by the world being more vivid, looking up after staring at a greyscale screen makes the colours jump out at you in the real world. I’ve setup an automation to have greyscale turn off when I open photos & the camera but for now, this is definitely what i’m using going forward." – QuitSplash

smartphone, phone addiction, scrolling, phone settings, social media So many of us mindlessly scroll. Grayscale can help. Giphy

How to turn on grayscale in your phone settings

The grayscale option is usually under Accessibility settings. Still, how you get there will vary by phone make and model, and any instructions I share here may end up outdated, so a quick Google search for "How to turn on grayscale settings on iPhone/Android" is your best bet for figuring it out.

I found that setting a grayscale display on the iPhone wasn't terribly intuitive, and once I put it in, I realized how annoying it would be to switch back to color if I wanted or needed to. (Sometimes I want to see a photo in color, or I'm looking at a color-coded chart that doesn't work in grayscale.) After a little tutorial from a Gen Zer, I was able to set a toggle shortcut so that if I press the power button quickly three times, the color options pop up so I can switch back and forth quickly.

Most of us can use some hacks to help us break our phone and screen overuse, and the simpler, the better. Try the grayscale trick and see how quickly your brain loses interest. For many, it's nothing short of life-changing.

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Education

Teacher’s heartfelt video on how smartphones hurt students makes the case for phone-free schools

“My heart goes out to teachers. It shouldn’t be this hard to teach.”

via Canva/Photos

A group of high schoolers look bored.

Much has been made in recent years about the effects that smartphones have had on young people, and that has led at least 19 states in the U.S to impose some sort of limitation on children having cell phones in schools, whether it’s a total ban or having the kids put their phones into pockets outside the classroom.

Social scientist Jonathan Haidt, a leader in the phone-free schools movement and author of The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness, recently shared a video on Instagram where a teacher he identified as Emma shared how smartphones have made her students apathetic.

teens with phones, kids and phones, anxiety, smeartphone addiction, dopamine, phones schools Two kids looking at their phones.via Canva/Photos

“First of all, the kids have no ability to be bored whatsoever. They live on their phones, and they are just fed a constant stream of dopamine from the minute their eyes wake up in the morning until they go to sleep at night,” the teacher says. “Because they're in a constant state of dopamine withdrawal at school, they behave like addicts. They're super emotional; the smallest things set them off. And when you're standing in front of them trying to teach, they're vacant. They have no ability to tune in if your communication isn't packaged in short little clips or if it doesn't have bright, flashing lights.”


The hardest part, Emma says, is that “They have their eyes looking at me, but they're not there...They have a level of apathy that I've never seen before in my whole career...It's like you are interacting with them briefly in between hits of the Internet, which is their real life.”

Haidt praised the video for doing what he says is a great job of sharing the damage that smartphones have done to children's developmental progress—and that the problem extends far beyond the dangers of social media, affecting their basic brain function.

“This is why I’m not only talking about #socialmedia—in the book I describe an entirely different kind of childhood that #smartphones have ushered in,” Haidt wrote in the comments. “I call it the #phonebasedchildhood, because it’s not just that touch-screen devices have added entertainment and 'connection'—they have replaced developmentally necessary aspects of childhood.”

teens with phones, kids and phones, anxiety, smeartphone addiction, dopamine, phones schools Teenagers taking selfies.via Canva/Photos

Haidt offers recommendations for parents and schools to help prevent children from developing trouble focusing or being away from their smartphones. He says parents shouldn’t allow their kids to have a smartphone before high school, as well as no social media until they are 16 years old.

When it comes to schools, Haidt believes that allowing students to bring their phones to class, provided they don’t use them, won’t help the problem. Instead, he thinks kids should place their phones in Yondr pouches, which are locked until the end of the day, or in phone lockers where they can retrieve them after school.

With pushback from teachers and social scientists such as Haidt, there is renewed hope that young people can find a better balance between real life and technology.

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Teacher reveals the 'really obvious' reason teens no longer read. It's not just the phones.

"Kids who read are just built different."

via Canva/Photos

A teenage boy stares at his smartphone.

Studies show that kids are spending a lot less time reading these days. In 2020, 42% of nine-year-old students said they read for fun almost daily, down from 52% in 2012. Seventeen percent of 13-year-olds read for fun daily, down from 27% in 2012. Among 17-year-olds, 19% say they read for fun, down from 31% in 1984.

It’s safe to say that modern technology is a big reason why kids aren’t reading as much. A recent report found that teenagers spend an average of eight hours and thirty-nine minutes per day on screens, compared to five and a half hours for pre-teen children. So, it’s no wonder they don’t have any time left to crack open a book. In December 2024, Ms. C, a high school teacher on TikTok who goes by the name @stillateacher, brought the topic up with her class and learned they stopped reading for fun at the end of middle school.

reading, kids, middle school, teens, tweens Read The Middle GIF Giphy

“So, even those who are like avid readers of the Percy Jackson series in fourth and fifth grade fall off,” the teacher says. “Honestly, there are many reasons to stop reading recreationally, like increased pressure inside and outside of school, a desire to spend more time socializing, and, of course, the phones.”

But the teacher says there’s an obvious reason “right in front of our faces”: the adults. “Adults have lowered the bar for how much you should read as a teenager so far that the bar cannot be found,” she continued. “There are many educators who have the mindset that you shouldn't teach whole books because kids just won't read them.”

@stillateacher

the literacy crisis is upon us #teachertok #teacher #highschoolteacher #englishteacher #education #literacy #booktok #creatorsearchinsights


“I've taught at schools where teaching novels is actually discouraged,” she continued. “And I have conversations with teachers in other content areas who say that they themselves never read books, that they don't think it's important for students' long-term success. All this said, it is not entirely surprising that high schoolers don't wanna read.”

How does reading benefit kids?

kids, reading, books, literacy, reading for fun, reading for pleasure Kids reading. via Canva/Photos

The significant decrease in the number of children who read for fun means that many will miss out on the incredible benefits of regularly curling up for a good book. Studies show that children who read for pleasure enjoy improved cognitive performance, language development, and academic achievement. Reading is also linked to fewer mental health problems, less screen time, and more sleep. Findings suggest that kids get the optimal benefits of reading when they do it for around 12 hours a week.

“You forgot empathy,” one commenter added. “People who read are better at empathizing because they have been able to put themselves in the shoes of others and learn about different perspectives, people, cultures, experiences.”

And @stillateacher has seen these incredible benefits first-hand. “But I'm telling you, the handful of kids I teach who do read are built different. Kids who read have stronger critical thinking skills, more success across all academic areas, and, honestly, just a stronger sense of self. Because reading helps you figure out who you are as a person,” the teacher said.

The decline in young people's reading is a serious problem that must be addressed. So, it’s terrific that the teacher used her platform on TikTok to bring it to the public’s attention. Interestingly enough, she says that TikTok is one of the few platforms encouraging kids to read.

“And honestly, thank goodness for BookTok because I think it is one of the only drivers of adolescent reading that still exists,” she concluded her post. “Isn't that sad? Like, the schools aren't doing it, TikTok's doing it. We gotta start a movement here.”

This story originally appeared last year.

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36-year-old grabs and flips the camera during 'Happy Birthday' song. It's actually genius.

Who needs a boring video of a grown adult staring at a cake when you can have this?

Canva Photos

The birthday girl grabbed the camera and turned it around while party guests sang—and the result was amazing.

No proper birthday celebration is complete without an off-key rendition of "Happy Birthday" sung by a number of friends and family members of various vocal talents. Even as an adult, you may not have an elaborate party, but it's still nice to enjoy that small moment: A small cake, cupcake, or other treat, and 30 seconds of love and recognition from the people who mean the most to you.

Inevitably, someone will whip out their phone to record the occasion. If you've been the birthday person recently, you know it's a little uncomfortable to have someone filming you as you stare at the cake and smile politely, waiting for the song to end. And besides, who wants to watch that video back anyway?

One woman is going viral on social media for giving the dry, overdone "Happy Birthday" video a clever twist.

birthday, birthday party, aging, selfies, photography, pictures, memories, family, love, culture, smartphones A good reminder to never take it for granted when you have people to help you celebrate. Photo by Bave Pictures on Unsplash

Deniz Kayiket recently posted a reel captioned: "It took me 36 years to realize you're supposed to record birthday videos the other way around."

In the video, she's shown sitting at a table as someone presents her with a cake that's adorned with lit candles, including a fancy, sparkly one in the middle. Kayiket then reaches out for the camera phone, taking it away from whoever's filming, and spins the camera around to capture the audience of friends and family in attendance.

The result is so joyful and full of life I can't believe everyone doesn't take videos like this.

The clip went mega viral to the tune of over 10 million views and hundreds of thousands of responses.

People found the idea of Kayiket capturing not her own celebratory milestone, but the people who had gathered to help her make it special, so overwhelmingly beautiful.

"Ohhh how i wish this happened when I was a kid! What i wouldn't give to see those people again"

"Sometimes it's hard to simply realize, those that you surround yourself with may not always be there. But cherish each moment with them. Life's too short for arguments, negativity, or past problems. You never know when's the last time you'll see someone you love."

birthday, birthday party, aging, selfies, photography, pictures, memories, family, love, culture, smartphones No party is too small to make a great memory. Giphy

The comments kept rolling in on TikTok, where the clip racked up another nearly three million views:

"Im jealous on what you get to look back on. I never made my birthdays relevant enough to remember"

"Why is this the sweetest thing ever"

"The fact that she thought to do this shows how aware and appreciative she is for everything she has. This is not someone who takes things for granted"

Some commenters claimed that the real 'trick' is to be in the moment and focused on the people around you without any phones or cameras at all. But that sentiment, while valid, misses the point.

"Whenever I watch the videos and photos of my past birthdays I feels so grateful for taking them, memories fade, photos and videos stay," someone astutely noted.

In an era where photos and videos have become so ubiquitous, it's crucial to find ways to make them really count.

With 91% of Americans owning an iPhone or equivalent smartphone, we have the capacity to take a nearly unlimited number of photos and videos. It can be a great thing. You'll never miss a moment anymore! You'll never be unpleasantly surprised to find your film print ruined by bad lighting or a thumb over the lens (which happened to me too many times when I was younger). But there's also something about the unlimited-ness of it all that has made photos and video less special.

(There was something amazing about the era of old photo albums, where you might have one good picture of a birthday party, or just a handful of shots with a relative who died when you were young. It's nice to have more, but those felt incredibly meaningful. Now the average user has upwards of 2000 photos stored on their devices, and even that seems like a conservative estimate.)

When I watch Kayiket's video, I can't help but think of the old photography advice that says something to the effect of, "If a photo doesn't have someone you love in it, you'll never look at it again."

I think about it all the time when I'm trying to capture a sunset or take in a breathtaking view. The photo never does it justice, anyway, and I never go back and look at them. But I do want to see photos of my friends and family in meaningful moments, big and small. I definitely don't need a zillion more photos of myself, but I would pay really good money to have a video like hers from birthdays past of my parents, relatives who have since passed away, and old friends who got together to sing and congratulate me.

So, if you're a grown adult with a birthday coming up, try this cool trick. Grab the camera and flip it around while your loved ones clap and celebrate. It'll be a unique and amazing video to look back on one day.

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