In a recent interview, psychotherapist and TODAY contributor Niro Feliciano explained a simple trick that can help families curb excessive phone use: enable the grayscale display setting on smartphones. While many blame social media platforms for the habit, Feliciano points out that the very colors on a screen are engineered to keep users glued to their devices.
Why Grayscale Works
Research shows that more than half of U.S. adults feel they spend too much time on their phones. The bright, saturated hues of apps trigger dopamine releases that reward continued scrolling. By turning the screen to shades of gray, the visual stimulus is muted, reducing the brain’s reward response and making it easier to step away.
How to Activate the Setting
Most smartphones include a grayscale option within the accessibility menu. Users can open the Settings app, navigate to Accessibility, then select Display (or a similarly named option) and turn on the grayscale filter. The exact path varies by device, but the process generally takes less than a minute.
What to Expect
Feliciano notes that interns who switched their phones to grayscale initially reported a sense of disappointment. “Right away, you don’t get the dopamine, so you will have to work through a short period of withdrawal,” she said. However, after a brief adjustment period, users often feel more balanced and report a noticeable reduction in screen time.
Long‑Term Benefits
While the habit change may take weeks or months, the immediate impact of grayscale is clear: the phone becomes less visually enticing, encouraging users to seek other activities. Feliciano suggests pairing the setting change with other focus‑building strategies, such as the TODAY 30‑day plan to rebuild attention span.
Practical Tips for Families
Parents can model the change by setting their own devices to grayscale and discussing the benefits with their children. Schools and youth programs might incorporate the setting into digital‑wellness curricula, helping teens develop healthier relationships with technology.
By reducing the visual allure of smartphones, the grayscale setting offers a low‑cost, easily reversible tool for anyone looking to regain control over their screen habits.
Original reporting: Dallas TX News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
