People can fake being “OK” to the degree that even friends and family may be unaware of their misery, but, according to new research from Northwestern University, your smartphone could be more in tune with your emotions than the people around you.
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By tracking daily usage and geographical location information, scientists can identify people with depressive symptoms with 87 percent accuracy, according to the study.
The study showed that depressed people generally did not go to many places, perhaps reflecting a loss of motivation that is commonly seen in depression, the researchers noted.
The scientists now wish to try and determine whether phones can be used to keep a close eye on people at risk of depression and make it easier for care providers to intervene, should need be. All participants completed a self-reported depression survey before the study began.
The findings are reported in the Journal of Medical Internet Research. Moreover, Purple Robot was able to glean risk factors from 74% of those that used their smartphones the most, texting, but did not use their phone for talking. But depressed patients spend on average 68 minutes per day.
The app could not tell what people were doing on their phones, but they were likely surfing the Web or playing games, Mohr said.
For the new study Saeb and his colleagues rounded up 40 volunteers through a Craigslist ad that offered a small amount of money to people who were willing to download an app that would keep track of data gleaned by certain phone sensors.
Regardless of the phone applications or functions used, less real-world activity and more phone use were shown to line up with symptoms of depression. The researchers also wonder whether getting people to change the behavior associated with depression could help ward off the condition itself. For example, if you spend most of your time in just a few locations, researchers say it increases the likelihood you’re depressed.
“When people are depressed, they tend to withdraw and don’t have the motivation or energy to go out and do things”, Mr Mohr pointed out. Saeb stated that the phone data was more reliable in detecting depression than daily questions participants answered about how sad they were feeling on a scale.
Saeb said researchers monitored smartphones of 28 subjects for two weeks using a mobile app that the research team designed.
Of the 28 who participated, 14 were chosen for displaying medium to severe signs of depression and 14 for showing no signs of depression.
“There are so many sensors available in smartphones; harnessing them could passively detect the state we’re interested in,”
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. Someone who spends an hour or more each day on their phone may be using it as a form of escapism, a way to avoid confronting hard issues or relationships.
