ABSTRACT

Excessive smartphone use has been related to numerous negative outcomes including anxiety, depression, sleep deficits, and lower life satisfaction. Though empirical works have made these associations, prior works have not addressed how to make phones less appealing and reduce screen time. One hundred sixty-one undergraduate students participated in a longitudinal study of smartphone use. Seventy-three had their phones changed to grayscale for eight to 10 days to evaluate if the absence of bright and saturated colors reduces screen time and negative affectivity. Participants who had their phones in grayscale spent significantly less time on social media and internet browsing compared to Time 1, though it appears grayscale did not influence video screen time. In addition, total screen time was significantly less for these individuals by an average of 37.90 min each day. The influence of grayscale did not account for improvement in anxiety or depression symptomology as both control and experimental groups improved compared to Time 1. It appears changing to grayscale makes smartphones less gratifying and can assist individuals in controlling their smartphone use. Suggestions and implications for future research are outlined.

摘要

过度使用智能手机与许多负面结果有关，包括焦虑、抑郁、睡眠不足和生活满意度降低。尽管实证研究已经建立了这些联系，但之前的研究并没有解决如何降低手机吸引力并减少屏幕时间的问题。一百六十一名本科生参与了智能手机使用的纵向研究。73 人将他们的手机改为灰度八到十天，以评估缺乏明亮和饱和颜色是否会减少屏幕时间和负面情绪。与时间 1 相比，使用灰度手机的参与者在社交媒体和互联网浏览上花费的时间明显减少，尽管灰度似乎并不影响视频屏幕时间。此外，这些人每天的总屏幕时间明显减少了 37.90 分钟。灰度的影响并不能解释焦虑或抑郁症状的改善，因为与第一组相比，对照组和实验组都有所改善。灰度的改变似乎使智能手机不太令人满意，并且可以帮助个人控制智能手机的使用。概述了对未来研究的建议和影响。