In 2021, one in three Americans were suffering from depression. The trend is troubling — and it begs for new solutions to an age-old problem of feeling mentally unwell. Could moodables be used to treat depression and anxiety?
The term moodables refers to sensing technology that may be used on a smartphone or other device to determine a person’s mood based on analysis of voice expressions, social media posts and any other data that could be indicative of an individual’s state of mind.
“Depression is a leading cause of disability and is associated with suicide risk,” wrote one study on moodable technology. “However, a quarter of patients with major depression remain undiagnosed. Prior work has demonstrated that a smartphone user’s depression level can be detected by analyzing data gathered from their smartphone’s sensors or from their social media posts over a few weeks after enrollment in a user study.”
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