"We" being me, various studies, the US "surgeon general", statistics...
>But it's strange to extend that to "buy this device since its joyless monochrome display won't enthrall you"
I never proposed or said anything about "buying this device". I answered the parent and explained why such a device could help with smartphone overuse/doomscrolling issues.
In fact I even explained how switching your existing device to b&w is often recommended for this purpose (which obviously means ...you don't need "this device" for achieve this).
>unless you have a specific personal problem about compulsion.
Tons of people have specific personal problems about compulsion, especially when it comes to their social media use.
Seems like you're... defending the exploitation of compulsive behavior.
Most media platforms are designed to exploit the same behavioural patterns s gambling, and it makes perfect sense to be able to restrict the likelihood of undesirable possible intrusions. If you want to isolate the act of reading or doing anything else without the possibility of being drawn over to an endless stream of videos, seems like a joyful and practical move. Then if you want to watch a video, go do that deliberately, there's no reason not to attempt to exert more control over your own attention, if something like this helps.
Well no, I'm defending the enjoyment of colorful games. Or picture books, or comics. And I'm disputing the idea that compulsivity is prevalent and that it's beyond the power of the user to say "this is dumb, I'm stopping now" when the only way the app tries to exert control is via little colorful animations.
More realistically, I think it's irrational mindsets such as "I need the world to like me" (or something, don't ask me), or a gambler's deep-seated belief in being lucky, that are exploited. I do not think the little colorful animations, in of themselves, have a direct line to the impulse control of most people. And I don't think puritanism is the way forward. "Isolating" is odd, because if I open an ebook, it's in black and white and fills the screen, even if the same screen is capable of simulating a slot machine. So buying a screen that's incapable of doing anything else seems extreme ... well, IDK, I kind of like the way actual paper looks, it feels more immediate than a screen, but that's unrelated to what it can't do.
> Well no, I'm defending the enjoyment of colorful games. Or picture books, or comics.
Nobody is defending the opposite. In my case, I created automation with shortcuts to disable the great filter when I open some apps and to reenable it after I close them. Those apps are currently Photos, Camera, Smart Comic Reader. I could have added games without issue but I just don’t game on phone.
I love Colors (like any human). What I don’t love is being addicted to e.g. Reddit. And turning on greyscale works on this. Call it maybe placebo if you want but the result is there.
I think the deliberate enjoyment of those things is absolutely something to value, and maybe coloration only has a small role in incentivized passive scrolling through media, but I think it's a hell of a lot better to not shit where you eat. If you want to play games, use your game playing thing, don't put yourself in a position where game playing or YouTube is easily capable of competing with other material that's also valuable but not nearly as stimulating or chance oriented.
I think it's pretty common for people to spend hours a day on their phone doing absolutely nothing of true substance, because activities of substance require intention.
I used to think along these lines, then I had kids. I thought it was just appealing to kids, and then I realized they are just more obvious and transparent in what works.
>Well no, I'm defending the enjoyment of colorful games. Or picture books, or comics
Yes, because we were totally discussing the healthy enjoyment of those things, and not digital overuse and addictive behavior to social media and the like /s
>I'm disputing the idea that compulsivity is prevalent and that it's beyond the power of the user to say "this is dumb, I'm stopping now" when the only way the app tries to exert control is via little colorful animations.
Something else I resent is the extension of the word "healthy" beyond the realm of bodily health, into the weeds of psychology, where the meaning of it is more like "approved".
Let's imagine we're on a battleground. You're fighting to defend your nation. I'm on the side of the baddies and I want to take over your trench, so I come at you with ... a screen. It has a colorful, jiggling, sparkling, animated button that begs you to press it. You immediately start drooling, you grab the screen, you're incapacitated and my victory is easy, right?
Or would you in fact be able to resist the attraction of about 150 square centimeters of dancing pixels when it really mattered, showing that this whole trope of mind control and screen addiction is approximately, perhaps not completely but close to completely, hogwash? People have habits in the contexts of their routines of life, and they can feel bad and unproductive and guilty about those habits, but they maintain the habits anyway because it's basically OK and they have no invigorating disaster going on to make doing anything different really matter.
