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Some brainy buggers in America have made an amazing discovery.
Data collected from mobile phones have the potential to provide insight into the relational dynamics of individuals.
They say:
Data collected from mobile phones have the potential to provide insight into the relational dynamics of individuals.
This paper compares observational data from mobile phones with standard self-report survey data. We find that the information from these two data sources is overlapping but distinct. For example, self-reports of physical proximity deviate from mobile phone records depending on the recency and salience of the interactions. We also demonstrate that it is possible to accurately infer 95% of friendships based on the observational data alone, where friend dyads demonstrate distinctive temporal and spatial patterns in their physical proximity and calling patterns. These behavioral patterns, in turn, allow the prediction of individual-level outcomes such as job satisfaction.
So does that mean that people are quite blurry about when they met someone a) who isn’t that important to them and b) it happened a long time ago?
And if people call each other frequently and if they’re often…ahem….physically close to each other, there’s a fair chance that they’re friends?
Thought so.
Then again, you could get them to walk around with their heads stuck in a picture frame.
No guesswork needed at all….
Thanks to Frau Professor Doktor Fish and Chips (who appears to be a really smart cookie and an ace photog to boot) for this one.
You Must Be From Away 