A new mobile health app claims it improved couples' relationships by 33% in three weeks during trials.
The service, offered by the Finnish health technology company Olento Life, claims to “repair relationship ties in an entirely new way”.
Managing director Peeter Lange believes that changing gender roles, increased egocentricity, and the ability to seek out new partners using mobile tech mean that relationships have become a consumable commodity.
Lange said he wanted to create app that would act as a counterweight to the dating and cheating services on the market.
“We combined science and a game-playing mindset into a digital wellness service; the first of its kind in the world”, explained Lange, who found motivation from his own divorce.
Research for the app, which is named We Did It, was conducted at Helsinki-based VTT, a large technical research institute.
As part of the study at VTT, each user of the app saw an increase in the happiness of his or her relationship by an average factor of 1/3 within three weeks. Artificial intelligence had a particularly positive influence on the couples’ sex lives.
“Those who participated in the study initially found the digital environment amusing, but were positively surprised at its effectiveness and the way it strengthened relationships”, said Kaisa Vehmas, specialist researcher at VTT.
In the qualitative study, members of couples evaluated the functioning of different sub-areas on a scale of 0 to 100. The average level of happiness in men before using the service was 50.2. After three weeks of use, the number was 67.4. The corresponding figures for women were 49.1 and 65.5.
“Couples’ sense of happiness grew by an average of 33% in 21 days, which was the duration of the study. This is a significant improvement from a researcher's point of view”, Vehmas said.
“People need to feel that they can make improvements to their own environments.”
We Did It is based on cognitive-behavioural science and positive psychology, helps transform people's own interpretations and behaviours through artificial intelligence.
“The effectiveness of the service is based on this, but it needs commitment from both parties in order to work. If this happens, changes are visible right away”, Lange said.
The app can be downloaded from Google Play and the App Store.
