Nature & Nurture #51: Dr. Nilam Ram - The Human Screenome Project

Dr. Nilam Ram is a Professor of Psychology and Communication at Stanford University, and one of the founders of the field of screenomics: the new interdisciplinary field of research based on the time-series analysis of screens and digital behavior. 

In this episode, we discuss Nilam's background in finance and quantitative psychology, the use of longitudinal research methods to examine changes in behavior and cognition throughout the lifespan, and the use of experience sampling methods in developmental science. As smartphones became more pervasive, Nilam describes the rise of mobile sensing methods in psychology, eventually leading to the birth of screenomics. We finally discuss the broad goals and potential applications of screenomics research, including interactive media which predict behavior, and the precautions taken to ensure smartphone data is analyzed with ethical and privacy concerns in mind.