I’m sure many of you saw this title and thought of the many gray hairs your children
have blessed you with over the years, and while an important topic, it’s not what I would like to
discuss today. Let’s talk about going gray digitally…your phone, your computer, your tablets.
You might ask why in the world would someone want to go gray. Well, for starters, it can make
electronic devices a little less appealing to the younger generation and considering the effects
screen time can have on the developing brain – making it less appealing is a huge deal.
Many studies have shown that persons who spend excessive amounts of time in front of
a screen exhibit shrinking in the gray matter areas of the brain. These include: the frontal lobe
which is responsible for planning, prioritizing, organizing, and impulse control; the striatum
which helps to suppress socially unacceptable impulses; and the insula which is involved in a
person’s ability to develop empathy and compassion.
Anything we can do to prevent this from occurring, we should be doing…enter
grayscale. I personally own an iPhone, so I will give you directions on how to go grayscale
there. However, please note that almost all electronic devices allow you the ability to “go
gray.” On your iPhone, go to settings, then go to general, choose accessibility, then display
accommodations, choose color filters, and hit the toggle button – voila, “you’re gray!”
