Smartphones as new measuring devices for depression

Study: Data from Smartphone may indicate depression of the user
Depression manifests itself among other things by lack of energy and the social withdrawal of those affected. According to a US study, in the future the smartphone could find out if someone is suffering from depression. The GPS location of the device allows data to be collected about the user's whereabouts. If someone lives predominantly at home and is not very active, that is a sign of psychological problems, according to the study authors who published their findings in the journal "Journal of Medical Internet Research".

Data from the smartphone can provide evidence of depression
How much time you spend with your mobile phone and whether you are usually left alone are important indications for the mental state of David Mohr and his colleagues from Northwestern University in Chicago. So it speaks for a depression, if a person deals frequently and long with the smartphone and is rarely on the road.

A smartphone test facilitates the first diagnosis of depression. Image: lightpoet - fotolia

Their study showed that depressive study participants spent an average of one good hour per day on their mobile phones. Participants without depression, on the other hand, only averaged about fifteen minutes with the smartphone. Even an irregular daily routine is according to the researchers, a sign of a mood low. 87 percent of the 28 study participants were diagnosed with the mobile phone. Thus, the procedure performed better than the daily survey according to the self-assessment of study participants.

"When people are depressed, they tend to retire and are less motivated to go out and do something," says psychologist Mohr. Although the phone data did not reveal what the participants used the smartphone for, it was obvious that many surfed the internet or played games most of the time rather than interacting with friends. The smartphone then probably distracts you from thinking about unpleasant, painful or difficult things.

"The essential thing is that we can tell if a person suffers from depressive symptoms and how severe these symptoms are without questioning them," explains Mohr. "We now have an objective measure of the behavior associated with depression. And we can recognize it passively. Because phones can provide data inconspicuously and without any effort for the user. "(Ag)