Every person in the world can be identified by the uniqueness of the pattern of use of phones, texts, and emails. The pattern of group digital behavior has been used to predict the outcome of elections but no previous analysis has shown exactly how unique the pattern of a person’s digital behavior is. Jari Saramäki, Associate Professor at Aalto University, and Sune Lehmann, Associate Professor at the Technical University of Denmark, are the first to present the extreme uniqueness of individual behavior and the potential for using that uniqueness in the edition of the journal Frontiers in Physics.
“Each individual follows their own distinctive and persistent daily rhythm” in using digital devices according to the authors. Some differences were noted based on location in a country and ethnicity but a divergence from the average was the norm across large data sets. Some alteration in pattern was seen in people that live in regions that have longer nights or longer days and the difference was attributed to physiology.
As search engines and politicians seek to cater to the preferences of any individual’s behavior online, the new research may offer better methods of tweaking the algorithms that present what an individual is supposed to want to see. A consistent and unchanging pattern of use of any digital device or medium is an open invitation to internet theft. The research indicates that the patterns of use are so ingrained in people that it may be impossible for people to change their digital signature to prevent being used by thieves, politicians, or search engines.
