Using Apple’s Screen Time application to obtain reported actual iPhone and social media (SM) use, we examined the accuracy of retrospective estimates of usage, how inaccuracies bias associations between use and psychosocial well-being (depression, loneliness, and life satisfaction), and the degree to which inaccuracies were predicted by levels of well-being. Among a sample of 325 iPhone users, we found that (a) participants misestimated their weekly overall iPhone and SM use by 19.1 and 12.2 hours, respectively; (b) correlations between estimated use and well-being variables were consistently stronger than the correlations between reported actual use and well-being variables; and (c) the degree of inaccuracy in estimated use was associated with levels of participant well-being and amount of use. These findings suggest that retrospective estimates of digital technology use may be systematically biased by factors that are fundamental to the associations under investigation. We propose that retrospective estimates of digital technology use may be capturing the construct of perceived use rather than actual use, and discuss how the antecedents, correlates, and consequences of perceived use may be distinct from those of actual use. Implications of these findings are discussed in view of the ongoing debate surrounding the effects of digital technology use on well-being.

中文翻译：

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社会心理幸福感和使用量如何预测数字技术使用回顾性估计的不准确度

使用 Apple 的 Screen Time 应用程序获取报告的实际 iPhone 和社交媒体 (SM) 使用情况，我们检查了使用情况回顾性估计的准确性、使用情况与社会心理健康（抑郁、孤独和生活满意度）之间的不准确偏差关联，以及幸福水平预测的不准确程度。在 325 名 iPhone 用户的样本中，我们发现 (a) 参与者将他们每周 iPhone 和 SM 的整体使用时间分别错误估计了 19.1 和 12.2 小时；(b) 估计使用和福利变量之间的相关性始终强于报告的实际使用和福利变量之间的相关性；(c) 估计使用的不准确程度与参与者的幸福水平和使用量有关。这些发现表明，对数字技术使用的回顾性估计可能会受到被调查关联的基本因素的系统性偏见。我们建议对数字技术使用的回顾性估计可能会捕捉感知使用的结构，而不是实际使用，并讨论感知使用的前因、相关性和后果如何与实际使用的不同。鉴于围绕数字技术使用对幸福感的影响的持续辩论，讨论了这些发现的含义。并讨论感知使用的前因、相关性和后果如何与实际使用的不同。鉴于围绕数字技术使用对幸福感的影响的持续辩论，讨论了这些发现的含义。并讨论感知使用的前因、相关性和后果如何与实际使用的不同。鉴于围绕数字技术使用对幸福感的影响的持续辩论，讨论了这些发现的含义。