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

Summary

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 the Mobile Phone Problem Use Scale. We conclude that estimated smartphone use should be interpreted with caution in psychological research.

Key Points

• 1Self-reported smartphone use often underestimates actual usage
• 2The study found no correlation between self-reported phone checks and actual use
• 3It emphasizes the importance of using objective data collection methods
• 4Source code for data processing and visualization is provided for wider application
• 5The findings highlight the limitations of self-report measures in psychological research on smartphone use

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