Open-source smartphone app and tools for measuring, quantifying, and visualizing technology use.

Psychological science has spent many years attempting to understand the impact of new technology on people and society. However, the frequent use of self-report methods to quantify patterns of usage struggle to capture subtle nuances of human-computer interaction. This has become particularly problematic for devices like smartphones that are used frequently and for a variety of purposes. While commercial apps can provide an element of objectivity, these are 'closed' and cannot be adapted to deliver a researcher-focused 'open' platform that allows for straightforward replication. Therefore, we have developed an Android app that provides accurate, highly detailed, and customizable accounts of smartphone usage without compromising participants' privacy. Further recommendations and code are provided to assist with data analysis. All source code, materials, and data are freely available (see links in supplementary materials section).

A simple location-tracking app for psychological research.

Location data gathered from a variety of sources are particularly valuable when it comes to understanding individuals and groups. However, much of this work has relied on participants' active engagement in regularly reporting their location. More recently, smartphones have been used to assist with this process, but although commercial smartphone applications are available, these are often expensive and are not designed with researchers in mind. To overcome these and other related issues, we have developed a freely available Android application that logs location accurately, stores the data securely, and ensures that participants can provide consent or withdraw from a study at any time. Further recommendations and R code are provided in order to assist with subsequent data analysis.

Absence of Objective Differences between Self-Identified Addicted and Healthy Smartphone Users?

Smartphones are used by billions of people worldwide. However, some psychologists have argued that use of this technology is addictive, even though little research utilises objective smartphone usage records to verify this claim. We conducted an exploratory study to identify whether behavioural differences exist between those who self-identify as addicted smartphone users and those who do not. We gathered retrospective smartphone usage data from 131 Android users and asked them about their past use to compare their perception of their usage against their actual usage. We could not identify any reliable differences between the smartphone activity of those self-identified as addicted smartphone users and other users. Furthermore, smartphone scales are generally good at identifying who believes themselves to be addicted, although they do not reflect objective smartphone use. This study questions the use of self-report measures to diagnosis behavioural addictions without relevant psychopathological constructs and emphasises the need for more rigorous study to conceptualise smartphone addiction.