Beyond Self-Report: Tools to Compare Estimated and Real-World Smartphone Use.

ABSTRACT: Psychologists typically rely on self-report data when quantifying mobile phone usage, despite little evidence of its validity. In this paper we explore the accuracy of using self-reported estimates when compared with actual smartphone use. We also include source code to process and visualise these data. We compared 23 participants' actual smartphone use over a two-week period with self-reported estimates and the Mobile Phone Problem Use Scale. Our results indicate that estimated time spent using a smartphone may be an adequate measure of use, unless a greater resolution of data are required. Estimates concerning the number of times an individual used their phone across a typical day did not correlate with actual smartphone use. Neither estimated duration nor number of uses correlated with

SUBMITTER: Andrews S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4625000 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature