Swipe Right for Sanity: Smartphones in the Age of Anxiety

In nearly half of the world, there is less than one psychiatrist for every 100,000 people, yet over 50% of the world population now owns a smartphone. What does this say about technology and our well-being? Mental health is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with life's stresses, realize their abilities, learn effectively, work productively, and contribute to their community. Globally, 13.9% of people suffer from mental illnesses, with an estimated 71% of these cases undiagnosed. For generations, mental health has been overshadowed by more tangible threats such as war, famine, and natural disasters, and by more intangible barriers like cultural stigmas and a general lack of awareness. Today, mental health awareness is more prevalent among millennials and Generation Z, especially in Western countries. However, increased awareness has not necessarily translated into better mental health. In fact, common mental health issues such as anxiety and depression are often attributed to the overuse of technology in our modern world.

But is that really the case? Can smartphones only worsen anxiety?

Yes and no. In 2021, during the U.S. congressional case against Facebook, Zuckerberg stated:

"The existing body of scientific work has not shown a causal link between using social media and young people having worse mental health."

While many social scientists would disagree with that statement, there is still a need for more long-term evidence of correlation between mental illnesses and social media use. Nevertheless, recent studies have begun to show a causal link between teen social media use and reduced well-being or mood disorders, mainly depression and anxiety. There are notable negative effects such as cyberbullying, social isolation for heavy social media users, and disruptions in sleep patterns, all correlated with depression. In fact, it is reported that for every 10% rise in negative social media interactions that someone experiences, the risk of depression increases by 20%. However, it is not that simple: According to the Goldilocks hypothesis, both too much and too little time spent on social media can harm mental health as too little can enhance feeling of isolation. General screen time also affects our sleep patterns through its bright blue light, which limits our melatonin (sleep hormones) production at night, with 79% suffering from disrupted sleep patterns associated with excess screen time.

So, how can smartphones possibly have a positive impact on our mental health?

Through the right apps and technology. Take Kintsugi, a mental health journaling app that can now diagnose depression and anxiety with just the sound of your voice through its trained AI model. Indeed, AI has helped clinicians make diagnoses. Traditionally, clinicians have limited patient interactions, which only offer a snapshot of an individual’s mental state, yet mood disorders are dynamic in nature and fluctuate over time. IBM research developed a machine learning speech classifier with 79% accuracy in predicting psychosis onset in those at clinically high risk. Another group demonstrated how computer vision can detect ADHD and ASD with 96% accuracy based on video analysis of a person’s behavior. Going back to Kintsugi, their trained AI uses a scientifically backed correlation between vocal acoustic properties and mental illnesses (specifically depression and anxiety) to reach its conclusions. This method simplifies the underlying technology and enables Kintsugi to focus on building a scoring system based on voice pattern detection. This recognition method also allows the technology to be language-agnostic, making the product easily accessible and scalable. On top of it, AI won’t stigmatize, making it a more neutral third party and will also gather a lot more data than your standard one-hour questionnaire or conversation. Finally, accessing mental health support through your smartphone greatly expands the reach of psychiatrists, bringing mental health discussions to remote towns.

This sounds all too good to be true. Is this the case?

Like any new technology, there is good and bad. Given that the regulation of mobile apps is significantly less strict than the regulation of medical products and treatments, we can observe an excess of so-called mental health apps on the market. For example, over 20,000 mental health apps were on sale to US consumers in 2024. The majority of these had not been validated, and of the few that had, it was primarily by small-scale, short-term pilot studies. The use of unvalidated smartphone apps poses risks to patients due to poor quality information and potentially harmful recommendations. Additionally, data monitoring of mental health patients also poses a data privacy question regarding the confidentiality of such data.

What does the future of mental health look like?

In a world where nearly 50% of the population has only one psychiatrist per 100,000 people, regulated access to mental health diagnosis and support through a smartphone could greatly accelerate mental health awareness and prevention. Additionally, in many parts of the world, notably in Asia and Africa, mental health is still taboo, creating strong cultural barriers to accessing mental health support and information. While I do not believe an AI should replace qualified psychologists, they can certainly streamline bottlenecks such as hotline and questionnaire diagnosis while promoting healthy behaviors such as journaling and goal setting. In conclusion, smartphones should be there to smoothen difficult processes that prevent us from accessing adequate mental health care and should be set aside when we are surrounded by our loved ones. No AI will ever bring you the comfort of friend's warm hug on a rainy day.

- "Swipe Right for Sanity: Smartphones in the Age of Anxiety" Article 8, Understanding Tomorrow, Kim Siew.

Disclaimer: I do not consider myself an expert. I am just a curious guy with a curious hobby - writing.