‘Appitypes’: You Are What You App, Study Finds
You are what you app. That’s the conclusion of new research that finds that people’s personality types can be determined by which apps they load onto their smartphones.
The apps you use can help paint a portrait of you as having specific “appitypes,” said Trevor Pinch, professor of science and technology studies, who worked as a consultant for the Finnish telecomm giant Nokia.
Pinch used survey data on app usage from 5,000 smartphone users in 10 countries to create appitypes to help define user profiles. Appitypes play into people’s desire to project an identity and could be of use to developers and users alike.
For example, Pinch said an “appcentric” is an extreme user who sees the mobile phone as a main computing device for anything from data management to playing games. The “appthusiast” is someone who feels the need to search out and download the latest apps. The “live wire” downloads a mix of fitness, social and travel apps.
The “creator appitype” is the Picasso of personality types when it comes to app habits, Pinch said.
“Creators are very expressive and carry a multitude of apps that allow them to be spontaneously creative. They could be art teachers, therapists with a penchant for drawing or heavy metal heads. The entertainment industry is full of ‘creators’.”
The survey found that Germans are downloading flashlight and alarm clock apps, Pinch said, while Brazilians download lots of music and social networking apps. The Chinese download news apps. South Africans prefer social networking apps . People in India go in for business apps.
While previous data had been collected on the number of apps users have, there was no global survey of smartphone users until now, Pinch said.
“Think about connections between humans and technology,” Pinch said. “You can have smartphones with you all the time. You can sleep with the thing if you want. These apps capture people’s imagination and add mobility. There is nothing inevitable about the path technology takes. We need more research on how people and technology together can produce meaningful change in our lives.”
You can take the Nokia appitype quiz to find out what your appitype is.
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