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Jack Barton | 2014-03-19 16:11:19
With the technological market sprinting towards future development and further research, it appears that the entire planet has gone mobile mad.
Or at least that is what the researchers from the University of Bonn are attempting to find out.
Anecdotally I’d have to agree that the younger portions of the population are showing compulsive symptoms towards their mobile phones seemingly craving the stimulation they get via social media, games, and other apps on their smart phones.
The Menthal App allows computer scientists and psychologists to find out how long you are spending on your phone each day, what you are doing on your phone, and your frequency of use. Initial data suggests that in adolescent populations the average individual checks their phone as often as once every 12 minutes!
Most frequently used apps are much as expected with instant messaging, social media, and games taking up approximately 15% each.
The psychologists conducting the study are attempting to find out at what point constitutes ‘too much’ usage, as part of a larger project investigating the potential to track other psychological conditions and the decline of symptomology using mobile phone technology.
Many subconsciously feel the urge to neglect more pressing activities in order to catch up with social media, chat to friends, or play the latest game (remember the flappy bird craze in February? No me neither…).
Without doubt with the advancement in technology greatly aiding education, communication, business, and engagement, by no means are mobile devices a bad thing, but it appears that in many individuals a subconscious need to constantly be on their device may be negatively affecting their mental health and quality of life, at least that’s my hypothesis. Let’s wait to see what the research suggests!
Unfortunately the Menthal app is not available on apple products just yet, but can be downloaded on Android devices.
Jack Barton (Researcher, Rescon Ltd)
P.S. No the irony is not lost on me that you may well be reading this blog on your mobile device, this is me giving you permission to read up on my blogs whenever you want throughout the day. Much more productive than flappy birds!
Source:
http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2014-01/27/menthal-app
http://gadgets.ndtv.com/apps/news/menthal-android-app-reveals-your-smartphone-usage-patterns-476511