No grey areas in using smartphones, residents say

“I agree that if I turned my smartphone screen grey, I would be less inclined to use the phone often. I wouldn’t do that to cut down on my phone usage, even as an experiment. I don’t want to do that, my usage is under control. I agree that the colours and designs of the app icons are made bright, vibrant and attractive to keep users hooked. But, as I said, I don’t use the phone much — just around two hours a day. Half of that time would be spent on social media, and the rest on other apps and programmes.”

“I would say that probably, yes, I would be less inclined to use my phone so much if it was on a grey display. But I don’t agree that the colours or designs have a big impact on phone use. Phones today are no longer only a means of communication — they are a means of media consumption. Even as an experiment, I wouldn’t change the settings of my phone to see if I would use it less. I also disagree that colours and app design are deliberately made to look a certain way so users stay hooked. It’s more the content, purpose and utility of the app that draws users. On average, I spend two to three hours a day on my phone — half of that time on social media and messaging, half on other apps and talk time.”

“I think even if my smartphone screen were to be turned grey, I wouldn’t be less inclined to use my phone. That’s because I use my smartphone for several purposes including work and keeping in touch my family. I don’t even believe it would cut down my phone usage, and I can’t afford to try it out as an experiments due to work commitments and staying touch with family. I use my phone three hours a day on average. I tend to find bright coloured apps less appealing to use because I find the colours distracting and irritating. Many apps are designed so they don’t look boring. I think if an app looks irritating, it might reduce my usage of it.”

“Making my phone screen grey wouldn’t really affect my usage as I use my phone mainly to check or reply to a message or answer a call. What decreases my usage is turning off my Wi-Fi/data, or deleting apps I tend to spend time on such as Instagram or Snapchat. I think turning a screen grey could work to an extent as the three apps I use most are in bright colours. However, it could be the fact that I just like using these apps. I think apps in general are designed to look a certain way because it’s a part of their marketing strategy. When it comes to how many hours I spend on my phone a day, I would say it depends on the day I am having and how busy I am. On average, if it’s a working day, I would use my phone for four hours. If I am staying home and procrastinating on social media, it could be more than that.”

“I spend 30 minutes on the phone on average daily. I believe in colour psychology and have experienced the influence of different colours on my moods. So I assume this should work too. And yes, I am willing to experiment that to cut down my mobile usage. I agree that apps are designed to look attractive and are created to generate more business.”

“I spend about six hours on the phone daily. Colours don’t matter and I don’t think going grey would reduce the usage time. If I need my phone to work on something, the colour is not going to stop me. Of course, colours look attractive, but utility takes priority. I can’t ignore notifications. It’s a part of life now.”