Using GPS-phones in tracking behavioral patterns

Indiana University is running series of studies with GPS enabled cell phones. In the project Space-Time Analysis of Adolescent Health-Risk Behaviors the researchers have used cell phones to track adolescents. There is also a link to their article.

The idea can be applied to tracking young people in their homes to see where they spend most of their time in the house, consuming media. It would give more controlled data on how much time they spend in their rooms or in the living room. In case each family member was tracked, we could tell how much time the members spend alone and together with the media.

Unfortunately, the GPS units are not that precise yet. They work better outdoors. But with the way technology is improving, it should not be too far away.