Phone Use And Depression: Too Much Time Spent On Device Linked To Depression

Are you spending a bit too much time engrossed in your phone or social media? New findings published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research show that excessive use of our phone in particular may be a sign of depression.

Researchers at the Center for Behavioral Intervention Technologies at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine found that smartphone location and usage time data helped to accurately predict depression in about 87 percent of those tested in the study. 

"The significance of this is we can detect if a person has depressive symptoms and the severity of those symptoms without asking them any questions," said David Mohr, director of the Center for Behavioral Intervention Technologies at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, in a news release. "We now have an objective measure of behavior related to depression. And we're detecting it passively. Phones can provide data unobtrusively and with no effort on the part of the user."

For the study, researchers gave 40 participants a self-reported depression survey. Then, they analyzed data from 28 of the participants' cell phones by examining GPS tracking and the amount of phone usage. Findings revealed that 14 participants showed symptoms of mild to severe depression, with depressed individuals used the phone for about 68 minutes. On the other hand, non-depressed individuals spent about 17 minutes on the device.

"The data showing depressed people tended not to go many places reflects the loss of motivation seen in depression," Mohr said. "When people are depressed, they tend to withdraw and don't have the motivation or energy to go out and do things. People are likely, when on their phones, to avoid thinking about things that are troubling, painful feelings or difficult relationships. It's an avoidance behavior we see in depression."

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