Older Adolescent's Perceptions of Personal Internet Use.
Interact use is widespread among the older adolescent population. Given the pervasiveness and frequency of interact use, concerns have been raised regarding the impact of excess internet use on adolescent health. In order to understand the impact of internet use on health, we must have accurate and reliable measures of internet use. This study aims to examine the accuracy of college students' self-reported internet use, including both computer and smartphone. Study was conducted at a large Midwestem university between February 2011 and April 2012. Participants were recruited in person from various campus locations and asked to complete a short survey about their quantity of personal internet use. Survey items assess demographic information and six questions about general internet use. Self-reported total internet use was defined by the question "what is the total hours per day you spend on the internet." Calculated total internet use was defined by "how many times a day do you use the internet" and "how long do you check it each time." A total of 392 paper surveys were collected; 383 surveys were analyzed. Participants' self-reported totals of accessing the interact were 7.8 times/day via smartphone and 10.4 times/day via computer. Average time spent on interact at each instance of use was 6.1 minutes on smartphone and 37.2 minutes via computer. Calculated total daily internet use was .84 hours/day on smartphone and 6.5 hours/day on computer. This study highlights challenges in self-reported estimation of daily internet use among college students. Interact users were unable to consistently match total estimates of self-reported internet use and calculated use. Introduction Internet use is widespread among the older adolescent population; over 95% of college students access the internet on computers and at home, and most report daily use (Smith, 2011). Smartphones have provided a new way to access interact throughout the day, with 92% of college students accessing the internet this way (Smith, 2011). Given the pervasiveness and frequency of internet use, concerns have been raised regarding the impact of excess internet use on adolescent health (O'Keeffe, 2011). Before the impact of internet use on health can be understood, we must have accurate and reliable measures of internet use. While self-report data currently exist it is unclear whether adolescents can accurately measure their personal internet use (O'Keeffe, 2011; Belanger et al., 2011; Meerkerk et al., 2009; Tsitsika et al., 2009). Smartphone use may present new challenges to self-report methods given that these devices allow for constant access that may be of short duration. It is therefore important to understand whether discrepancies in self-reported use exist. The purpose of this study was to examine the accuracy of college students' self-reported internet use, including both computer and smartphone. Methods Setting and participants This study was conducted between February 2011 and April 2012. Survey distribution occurred from February 2011 and April 2011 and recruited undergraduate students from a large Midwestern university. Inclusion criteria were being a current college student between the ages of 18 and 23 years. Participants were recruited in person from various campus locations and asked to complete a short survey about their quantity of personal internet use. The University of Wisconsin-Madison Institutional Review Board approved this project. Survey Survey items assessed demographic information and six questions about general internet use. These questions included: (1) how many times a day do you check the internet? (2) how long do you check the interact each time?, and (3) what are the total hours per day you spend on the internet? Participants responded to each set of questions separately for internet use via smartphone and via computer. Analysis Descriptive statistics were calculated, and paired T-tests were used to compare self-reported total internet use and calculated internet use. …