Beat Doomscrolling: Try These 4 Simple Phone Settings for a Quick Digital Detox
New Delhi, 21st November 2025: If you’ve ever opened your phone for “just one reel” and suddenly realised two hours have vanished, you’re not alone. Endless scrolling — or doomscrolling — has quietly become a daily habit for millions. It’s become so common that the Oxford Dictionary even picked “Brain Rot” as the Word of the Year 2024, highlighting how smartphone overuse is affecting our minds.
The good news: you don’t need extreme measures to break the cycle. Your phone already has built-in tools that can cut screen time with very little effort.
Here are four simple settings you can try today.
Turn On Grayscale Mode
Colour stimulates the brain and keeps you glued to the screen. Switching your phone to black and white removes that visual excitement, making apps feel less addictive and helping you log off faster.
How to enable it:
Android: Settings → Digital Wellbeing → Bedtime Mode → Grayscale
iPhone: Settings → Accessibility → Display & Text Size → Color Filters → Grayscale
Use Focus Mode to Block Distractions
A single notification can derail your concentration. Focus Mode pauses selected apps and alerts so you can work, study or simply relax without constant interruptions.
Android: Quick Settings → Focus Mode → Choose apps to pause
iPhone: Settings → Focus → Select Work / Study / Personal → Choose apps to silence
Set App Timers
If Instagram, YouTube or mobile games are eating up your time, app timers can gently limit your daily usage and remind you to log off.
iPhone: Settings → Screen Time → App Limits
Android: Settings → Screen Time / Digital Wellbeing → Set daily app limits
Turn On Do Not Disturb or Reduce Notifications
Fewer notifications mean fewer temptations. Turning on DND — or disabling non-essential alerts — immediately cuts down unnecessary screen checks. You can also declutter your home screen by removing social media shortcuts and adding helpful widgets like a calendar or screen-time tracker.
FAQs
What is a Digital Detox?
A short break from phones, social media and screens to help reset your mind and reduce stress.
How do I know if I’m addicted to my phone?
If you check your phone the moment you wake up, feel anxious without it, or reach for it every time it pings, you may be relying on it more than you think.
What is Doomscrolling?
Endlessly scrolling through posts, videos or comments without any real purpose or benefit.
Does Grayscale Mode actually work?
Yes. Without colours, apps look dull and less stimulating, which reduces dopamine triggers and naturally cuts scrolling time.
