If you spend a lot of time using your smartphone, scientists have a list of effective solutions that can help you cut back on screen time.
Experts at McGill University in Canada say small, effective changes can help reduce smartphone addiction and mental health problems such as depression. Experts reported that in experiments, people who followed the strategies reduced screen time, felt less addicted to their phones and improved their sleep quality.
Among the ten strategies: changing the phone’s screen to “grayscale” so that the screen appears black and white, and disabling facial recognition as a way to unlock the screen. The black and white screen makes looking at smartphones less satisfying compared to the bright colors offered by app icons.
Another effective way is to use a computer instead of a smartphone to connect to the Internet and to keep the phone away from the bedroom so that we are not tempted to pick it up when we are supposed to be asleep. The study’s authors warned that “problematic smartphone use has been increasing worldwide over the past decade”.
In their paper, published in the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, they say: “Combining different behavioral strategies could be a feasible and effective intervention to reduce smartphone use. Our findings may be useful to phone manufacturers and app developers interested in improving digital wellbeing.”
The researchers conducted previous studies to compile a list of 10 simple strategies, referred to as ‘nudges’. Some strategies are settings that can be activated for iOS and Android, while others relate to our physical interactions with our devices.
The team ranked the 10 strategies as easiest and most likely to be effective near the top spot. It includes number one: reduce unnecessary notifications, which can reduce stress, according to a previous study.
Although the ten strategies had already been identified through previous studies, the McGill University researchers wanted to test the effectiveness of each for themselves. They recruited more than 100 participants to follow a strategy for two weeks.
Initially, each participant reported their levels of smartphone use, well-being, and cognition. These data were compared to a follow-up assessment not long after the two-week period had ended.
The results showed a reduction in “smartphone use problems”, screen time, and symptoms of depression, as well as an improvement in sleep quality.
“Most of the participants spent 4 to 5 hours a day on their phones,” said lead author Jay Olson, a postdoctoral researcher at McGill University. “The intervention reduced this by about an hour a day, sometimes freeing up the equivalent of a full-time work week a month.”
The experts found that participants generally reported that they spend this extra free time on study, hobbies or socializing.
In terms of sticking with their chosen strategy, participants were more likely to comply with reduced notifications but less likely to keep their screen on grayscale or leave their phones at home.