ABSTRACT

Mood-tracking applications (‘apps’) have seen a tremendous flourishing and are recognised as part of an overall ‘applification of mental wellbeing’. They resemble digital mood journals designed to provide a proactive quantification, control and presentation of mood fluctuations through the simple swiping and tapping on a mobile device touchscreen. Taking the measure of one’s mood is not a novel practice of self-disclosure: Pen-and-paper based mood-charts have had a long tradition dating back to the 18th century and have become an integral part in the emergence of CBT and research. Arguably, the change ‘from writing to swiping’ that occurred with the widespread circulation of mood-tracking apps has not entirely changed the basic philosophical and ideological premises involved in measuring one’s mood. DepressApp is a free-to-use app introduced to Apple’s iOS in 2015 and is envisioned and marketed as ‘the ultimate mobile tool to assist’ the therapy of mental illness, with a focus on people suffering from depression.