# Typical Phone Use Habits: Intense Use Does Not Predict Negative Well-Being

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1807.02472 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1807.02472/

## Key facts

- Cited by 3 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 6 Jul 2018.

## Built on by (most cited first, 3 of 3)

- [AgentStop: Terminating Local AI Agents Early to Save Energy in Consumer Devices](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.15206/) (2026)
- [FairComp: Workshop on Fairness and Robustness in Machine Learning for Ubiquitous Computing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.12877/) (2023)
- [Mind the XAI Gap: A Human-Centered LLM Framework for Democratizing Explainable AI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.12240/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Not all smartphone owners use their device in the same way. In this work, we uncover broad, latent patterns of mobile phone use behavior. We conducted a study where, via a dedicated logging app, we collected daily mobile phone activity data from a sample of 340 participants for a period of four weeks. Through an unsupervised learning approach and a methodologically rigorous analysis, we reveal five generic phone use profiles which describe at least 10% of the participants each: limited use, business use, power use, and personality- & externally induced problematic use. We provide evidence that intense mobile phone use alone does not predict negative well-being. Instead, our approach automatically revealed two groups with tendencies for lower well-being, which are characterized by nightly phone use sessions.