Analysis of the Pre and Post-COVID-19 Lockdown Use of Smartphone Apps in Spain

• Published in: Applied sciences 2021-07, Vol.11 (13), p.5807
• Main Authors: Solano, Alberto, Fayos, Ivan, Urueña, Alberto, Martínez-Sober, Marcelino, Mateo, Fernando, Soria-Olivas, Emilio
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Addictions; Clustering; Communication; Confinement; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Data analysis; Loneliness; Machine learning; manifold learning; Manifolds (mathematics); Pandemics; Personality; Personality traits; Screen time; Shelter in place; smartphone use; Smartphones; Social networks; Sociodemographics; Time of use; Variables
• ISSN: 2076-3417; 2076-3417
• DOI: 10.3390/app11135807

The global pandemic of COVID-19 has changed our daily habits and has undoubtedly affected our smartphone usage time. This paper attempts to characterize the changes in the time of use of smartphones and their applications between the pre-lockdown and post-lockdown periods in Spain, during the first COVID-19 confinement in 2020. This study analyzes data from 1940 participants, which was obtained both from a survey and from a tracking application installed on their smartphones. We propose manifold learning techniques such as clustering, to assess, both in a quantitative and in a qualitative way, the behavioral and social effects and implications of confinement in the Spanish population. We also determine the Big Five personality traits along with addiction, Social Digital Pressure and depression indicators for every group determined by the clustering.