--- title: Here’s How to Know Who Your Real Friends Are description: Look at your phone texting and calling patterns. Scientists are realizing they give powerful insights about relationships. Via Sciencemag.org: Just by analyzing the calling patterns,... canonical: https://time.com/3600178/who-real-friends-are/ author: Eric Barker article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-11-22T05:01:21.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T08:02:33.243Z article:section: Ideas og:title: Here’s How to Know Who Your Real Friends Are og:description: Look at your phone texting and calling patterns. Scientists are realizing they give powerful insights about relationships. Via Sciencemag.org: Just by analyzing the calling patterns,... og:url: https://time.com/3600178/who-real-friends-are/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdff12bc86e236782/69876a52e53aba449c4d614e/iphone-apps.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: Fackbook Acquires WhatsApp For $16 Billion og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here’s How to Know Who Your Real Friends Are twitter:description: Look at your phone texting and calling patterns. Scientists are realizing they give powerful insights about relationships. Via Sciencemag.org: Just by analyzing the calling patterns,... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdff12bc86e236782/69876a52e53aba449c4d614e/iphone-apps.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here’s How to Know Who Your Real Friends Are > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Inside TIME: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Inside TIME is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories. Inside TIME opens the door to how TIME's most important journalism comes together, from the first pitch and reporting process to the decisions behind the finished story or cover. 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Inside TIME is the newsletter where TIME's Editor-in-Chief explains cover selection and the editorial reasoning behind major stories. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who is the editor of TIME? Sam Jacobs is TIME's Editor-in-Chief. He writes Inside TIME, a twice-weekly newsletter about the newsroom's reporting and editorial decisions. #### Is Inside TIME free? Yes. Inside TIME is a free newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and available at time.com/subscribe-agent. by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Nov 22, 2014 5:01 AM UTC  SAN FRANCISCO, CA - FEBRUARY 19: The Facebook and WhatsApp app icons are displayed on an iPhone on February 19, 2014 in San Francisco City. Facebook Inc. announced that it will purchase smartphone-messaging app company WhatsApp Inc. for $19 billion in cash and stock. (Photo illustration by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) SAN FRANCISCO, CA - FEBRUARY 19: The Facebook and WhatsApp app icons are displayed on an iPhone on February 19, 2014 in San Francisco City. Facebook Inc. announced that it will purchase smartphone-messaging app company WhatsApp Inc. for $19 billion in cash and stock. (Photo illustration by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Justin Sullivan—Getty Images by [Eric Barker](https://time.com/author/eric-barker/) ## Eric Barker Nov 22, 2014 5:01 AM UTC Look at your phone texting and calling patterns. Scientists are realizing they give powerful insights about relationships. Via [Sciencemag.org](http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2009/08/17-01.html): --- > “” --- There’s another great [article](http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704547604576263261679848814.html) in the WSJ by Robert Lee Hotz about how scientists are using phone data to study our behavior — and learning more than they ever thought they could: --- > “” --- Of course, companies are very interested in this data: --- > “” --- And some of the results are downright unnerving: --- > “” --- A few other interesting tidbits: 1. Overall, our phones [make us happier](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-technology-make-us-more-or-less-happy). (There’s even [an app for that](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-your-iphone-increase-your-happiness).) 2. They may be making us more selfish, however. Our phones can fulfill our need for human contact, [making us less inclined to go out of our way to help others](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/is-your-cellphone-making-you-more-selfish). 3. These devices can distract us so much we don’t notice the world around us — [even if it contains unicycling clowns](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-your-cellphone-distract-you-so-much-you-d). (To be fair, people may actually [like us better when we are distracted during a conversation](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-people-like-us-better-when-were-distracted).) 4. We’ve become so addicted to our phones that two-thirds of users report hearing “[phantom ringing](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-frequent-cell-phone-users-experience-phant).” 5. We rely so much on these devices that [a third of people under 30 can’t remember their home phone numbers](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-many-people-cant-remember-their-home-phon) — if they have one at all. 6. 5% of relationships were [ended by text message](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/little-known-statistics-on-sex-and-relationsh). People even get [divorced via text](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/do-people-ever-get-divorced-via-text-message). ([iPhone users are more promiscuous](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/are-iphone-users-more-promiscuous), by the way.) 7. By stripping away the emotional information in faces and intonation, text messaging might be [simulating autism](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/does-technology-make-us-autistic). 8. That said, text message reminders have effectively [encouraged s](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-text-messages-make-you-healthier-and-rich)[aving, reduced smoking](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/can-text-messages-make-you-healthier-and-rich) and [increased voting](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/how-can-you-easily-get-more-people-to-vote). **_This piece originally appeared on_** [**_Barking Up the Wrong Tree_**](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/08/how-can-you-know-who-your-real-friends-are/)**_._** **Join over 135,000 readers. Get a free weekly update via email** [**here**](http://eepurl.com/o6uAD)**.** Related posts: [How To Make Your Life Better By Sending Five Simple Emails](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2013/07/make-your-life-better/) [How To Stop Being Lazy And Get More Done – 5 Expert Tips](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/08/how-to-stop-being-lazy/) [New Harvard Research Reveals A Fun Way To Be More Successful](http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2014/09/be-more-successful/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3600178/who-real-friends-are/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3600178/who-real-friends-are/"},"headline":"Here’s How to Know Who Your Real Friends Are","datePublished":"2014-11-22T05:01:21.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T08:02:33.243Z","description":"Look at your phone texting and calling patterns. Scientists are realizing they give powerful insights about relationships. 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