Mapping dynamic social networks in real life using participants' own smartphones.

ABSTRACT: Interpersonal relationships are vital for our daily functioning and wellbeing. Social networks may form the primary means by which environmental influences determine individual traits. Several studies have shown the influence of social networks on decision-making, behaviors and wellbeing. Smartphones have great potential for measuring social networks in a real world setting. Here we tested the feasibility of using people's own smartphones as a data collection platform for face-to-face interactions. We developed an application for iOS and Android to collect Bluetooth data and acquired one week of data from 14 participants in our organization. The Bluetooth scanning statistics were used to quantify the time-resolved connection strength between participants and define the weights of a dynamic

SUBMITTER: Boonstra TW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4945619 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature