Scientists at Leiden University analyzed data on hundreds of smartphone usages and found that all participants had rhythms ranging from seven to 52 days that affected behavior. Results of the publication published in the journal npj Digital Medicine.
400 people between the ages of 16 and 80 participated in the study. They installed a smartphone app that allows researchers to monitor and analyze screen usage data. The scientists analyzed only those moments when people were actively using their phones, scrolling or typing.
Scientists have identified 2,500 different types of smartphone use, based on the way people touch the screen and the time between touches. At the same time, some ways of using the screen were repeated every few days, for example, with short or long pauses between taps.
Such cycles were very common in the elderly and young, women and men. Scientists noted that many women face discrimination in the workplace because it is believed that their performance is impaired because of their menstrual cycle. Studies show that not only women menstruate.
The authors also stressed that it is easy to see cyclical behavior or seizures in many illnesses, such as bipolar disorder or epilepsy. Scientists believe their discovery raises the question: “Can’t the cycles they discover be the norm that has become more pronounced as a result of the disease?”.