"Sometimes, I have felt it was like an eye looking at me. and I am always wanting to put it on and disappear, don't you know; or wondering if it's safe, and pulling it out to make sure. I tried locking it up, but I found I couldn't rest without it in my pocket. I don't know why. And I don't seem able to make up my mind."
These are Bilbo Baggins' words in Chapter 1 of The Fellowship of the Ring, as he speaks to the wizard Gandalf about his ring. A smartphone, of course, is not a magic ring, and yet, we may echo Bilbo's words to some extent here. Many smartphone users are always wanting to take out their phone and perhaps "disappear" from whatever or whoever surrounds them: disappearing from the household chores, the work responsibilities, or the strangers in the waiting room. Like a magic ring, a smartphone can be very useful.
Unnecessary checking on phones is not altogether different than Bilbo's wondering if the ring is safe, and pulling it out to make sure.
Sometimes, we recognize the pull that the device has on us, so we put it away from us, only to realize we can't rest without it in our pocket. What if we miss out on something important while it is tucked away in a drawer?
And, like Bilbo wanting to let go of the ring but not making up his mind on it, we often are indecisive and inconsistent about how, where, when, and why we want to make use of our phones. Even with good intention and practical resolutions, we may find ourselves reaching to our pockets absent-mindedly, like Bilbo with the ring. And we may find ourselves checking our email when we set out to make a phone call!
Going grayscale for Lent is one way of addressing the ambivalence we feel about the pull of the screen in our pocket. It's a resolution that requires changing a setting and nothing more: no active monitoring or maintenance.
Lenten resolutions are penances, and penances always indicate both a "yes" and "no." Going grayscale for Lent is a way of saying no. Grayscale is a no to the brightness and attraction of the screen. It's a way of trying to address the pull of the screen in our pocket. Ultimately, like all penances should be, going grayscale is a way of saying no to ourselves.
It's a way to acknowledge bad habits that have slowly crept into our lives, and to say no to them. It tames an impulse, and reminds that we use the phone as a tool, rather than letting the phone use us, as a magic ring might, exercising control over thought and action. Like a magic ring, our phones were designed to catch our attention, to draw our usage, and to ensnare our commitment. Technology developers seek out and depend upon our desires and uses. Phones and apps were thoughtfully and intentionally designed, not simply to be useful tools, but to be indispensable tools: tools that we may feel we cannot live without. Going grayscale is a way of saying no to this illusion. It aims at detachment, a no to this object that so easily attaches us.
The Lenten resolution of going grayscale is an attempt at saying yes to what really matters. God is our ultimate reality, our beginning and end. This penance helps us to say yes to recollection, conscious choice, and practicing the presence of God. The gray screen seems dull and boring, throwing into relief the vividness of our surroundings, the gift of this life in this world, and the unbelievable beauty of the world to come. The boring screen reminds us to say yes to the people near us, who - whether strangers on an airplane or our own family members - are children of God, with souls! The gray screen is a way of saying yes to ourselves as God's beloved children, capable of using our free will to grow in virtue and cooperate with the abundance of grace given to us by God.
The willingness to go grayscale for Lent shows that we recognize the pull in our pockets and have the courage to say no to that attachment. This resolution also shows that we say yes to what really matters, to serving God in the best way we can.
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