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How Much Time Do You Spend Online? Understanding and Improving the Accuracy of Self-Reported Measures of Internet Use
Open accessAbstract
Given the importance of survey measures of online media use for communication research, it is crucial to assess and improve their quality, in particular because the increasingly fragmented and ubiquitous usage of internet complicates the accuracy of self-reported measures. This study contributes to the discussion regarding the accuracy of self-reported internet use by presenting relevant factors potentially affecting biases of self-reports and testing survey design strategies to improve accuracy. Combining automatic tracking data and survey data from the same participants (N = 690) confirmed low levels of accuracy and tendencies of over-reporting. The analysis revealed biases due to a range of factors associated with the intensity of (actual) internet usage, propensity to multitask, day of reference, and the usage of mobile devices. An anchoring technique could not be proved to reduce inaccuracies of reporting behavior. Several recommendations for research practice follow from these findings.
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“Furthermore, light users tend to overestimate their screen time, whereas heavy users tend to underestimate their screen time [9].”
From The effects of smartphones on well-being: theoretical integration and research agenda (2020) · cites this paper as [9]
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“People's subjective estimates of their average screen time share as little as 10% variance with their actual screen time when measured objectively [9].”
From The effects of smartphones on well-being: theoretical integration and research agenda (2020) · cites this paper as [9]
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Metadata
- Authors
- Araujo, T., Wonneberger, A., Neijens, P., & de Vreese, C.
- Affiliations
- University of Amsterdam (NL)
- Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR), University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Corresponding author
- Araujo, Theo
- Venue
- Communication Methods and Measures
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2017-04-27
- Volume
- 11
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 173-190
- ISSN
- 1931-2458 (ISSN-L)
- 1931-2466
- OpenAlex
- W2608611108
- Cited by
- 237
- References
- 41
- Citations by year
- 2026: 19 · 2025: 30 · 2024: 30 · 2023: 33 · 2022: 27 · 2021: 39 · 2020: 38 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 1
- FWCI
- 41.33
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Communication Methods and Measures (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- UvA-DARE (University of Amsterdam) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- Research Priority Area Communication, University of Amsterdam (2012-2016)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Survey Methodology and Nonresponse
- Physical Sciences › Mathematics › Statistics and Probability › Survey Sampling and Estimation Techniques
- Social Sciences › Communication › Media and Digital Communication
- Keywords
- measurement accuracy, reporting bias, overreporting, survey design, anchoring technique, mobile device use, multitasking, online media use
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