ArticleJMIR mHealth and uHealth2021
Examining the Correlation Between Depression and Social Behavior on Smartphones Through Usage Metadata: Empirical Study.
Article in JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers.
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Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed.
- Digital Phenotyping via Passive Network Traffic Monitoring: Prospective Observational Study in University Students.JMIR formative research · 2026Observational
- Smartphone-Based Digital Phenotyping Across Health Conditions: Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Sensor-Equipped Digital Technologies for Monitoring and Detecting Depressive Disorders: A Systematic Review.Health science reports · 2026Review
- Digital phenotyping of affect and stress in emerging adults.Frontiers in digital health · 2026Article
- Digital Measurement of Subjective Experiences in Alzheimer Disease and Related Dementias (AD/ADRD).JMIR aging · 2025Article
- Passive sensing of anhedonia and amotivation in a transdiagnostic sample.Journal of psychopathology and clinical science · 2025Article
- Objectively Measured Smartphone Use and Nonsuicidal Self-Injury Among College Students: Cross-Sectional Study.JMIR mental health · 2025Article
- Smartphone-Tracked Digital Markers of Momentary Subjective Stress in College Students: Idiographic Machine Learning Analysis.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2023Article
- A Mobile Sensing App to Monitor Youth Mental Health: Observational Pilot Study.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2021Observational
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAs smartphone has been widely used, understanding how depression correlates with social behavior on smartphones can be beneficial for early diagnosis of depression. An enormous amount of research relied on self-report questionnaires, which is not objective. Only recently the increased availability of rich data about human behavior in digital space has provided new perspectives for the investigation of individual differences.
objectiveThe objective of this study was to explore depressed Chinese individuals' social behavior in digital space through metadata collected via smartphones.
methodsA total of 120 participants were recruited to carry a smartphone with a metadata collection app (MobileSens). At the end of metadata collection, they were instructed to complete the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D). We then separated participants into nondepressed and depressed groups based on their scores on CES-D. From the metadata of smartphone usage, we extracted 44 features, including traditional social behaviors such as making calls and sending SMS text messages, and the usage of social apps (eg, WeChat and Sina Weibo, 2 popular social apps in China). The 2-way ANOVA (nondepressed vs depressed × male vs female) and multiple logistic regression analysis were conducted to investigate differences in social behaviors on smartphones among users.
resultsThe results found depressed users received less calls from contacts (all day: F
conclusionsThis paper finds that there exists a certain correlation between depression and social behavior on smartphones. The result may be useful to improve social interaction for depressed individuals in the daily lives and may be insightful for early diagnosis of depression.
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