A few weeks back, I listened to a lovely, fairly short talk by academic Arthur Brooks on the worrying, baneful effects of social media and smartphones on young (and not so young) minds. Talking on a very "happening" subject, aka phone addiction, I could think of several peers who would benefit from this video afterwards, so I hastened sending it, adding, of course, how useful it was to me, as well.
While I'm not one particularly taken by social media and can happily go without it for months, I find I'm not impervious either to the intoxicating, addictive dark energy of these little pocket screens. I have, on occasion and to my deep displeasure, caught myself "doom-scrolling", staring at garbage content, wasting my energy and attention, just because it's there.
And in the video, Mr. Brooks shared a pretty cool "trick" for taming this particular dragon. Explaining that the bright colors of smartphones work to hyper-stimulate our occipital lobe (and naturally, our monkey brains are trained to respond strongly to bright colors), he suggested turning your phone to black and white, to reduce its appeal. Something I was keen on, and immediately tried.
I wanted to see for myself if there would be some visible improvement in my phone use, and dare I say, I was quite surprised. After some 3 weeks (perhaps a little more now) since making the switch, I find myself a lot less drawn to using social media on my phone. Instagram being the main culprit for me - I would find myself losing time on random, vacuous reels, or even worse, exposing myself to increasingly more drastic and alarming news and opinion pieces on the state of my beloved Europe, which spiraled me into a well of depression and anxiety - after switching the phone colors, I find myself opening the app much less, and almost never get drawn into it. If I ever do, it's more like 2 minutes than 20.
I've found, since switching, my use of the phone has become a lot more utilitarian. Even messaging apps, like Whatsapp, while still quite used, keep me there for much less. I think perhaps the absence of colors, not knowing whether the interlocutor has read the message, creates a freer, more fluid space to be in and disappear from at whim.
It's been an interesting little experiment. I must say, everything seems ten times more dramatic and atmospheric in black and white. Early on, my brother asked if I wouldn't feel bad, seeing as everyone else still had their phones nice and in bright colors, but I find quite the opposite is true. I rather like the drama of the B&W and this newfound utilitarianism. I no longer feel under the sway of a little, digital tyrant, no longer feel tricked by my own mental processes into wasting attention, energy, and those things most precious to me.
As Mr. Brooks well points out in the video, color belongs to the real world.
I find myself increasingly on the side of caution and, at the very least, digital skepticism. And while I try to keep an eye on my own extremist tendencies, the "real world" gives me no shortage of reasons against digital devices. (Obviously, I understand it is a matter of use, that devices are tools, and can be used toward good or evil. However, I'm wary of our modern, idiotic tendency to underestimate their power, and overestimate our own self-control. We are very much vulnerable to addiction and, as the kids say, "brain rot", and would best take continual preventive measures, I think.)
Just the other night, we attended a dear friend's birthday party, and watched in a mix of awe and horror how two of her other friends lounged for good dozens of minutes at a time on the couch, just doom scrolling. Taking their time. Utterly absorbed by social media. In the middle of a social engagement. Frightening and worrying enough to leave the rest of us discussing it for much of today.
While it's tempting to shrug and say we're grown-ups and it's not as bad as if we were children, it's fair to assume a good part of our generation (27-28 year olds) has spent easily ten years doing this, so a great deal of time when their brains were significantly still developing. What kinds of consequences that may have for our society and shared future, only time will tell.
However, it did combine nicely with a fantastic podcast I was in the middle of, and finished earlier. I've been enjoying for a long time the series "Socrates in the City", and the affiliate "Socrates in the Studio", and this particular episode happened to touch precisely on this topic. Particularly children, and the catastrophic effects of screens on young minds.
Fascinating, and deeply worrying stuff to consider. Anyway, just wanted to share. Finally, the song I stole the title from: