How do Internet users and non-users differ in where they spend their time?

View the most recent version.

The varying ways in which Internet users and non-users allocate their time are likely to translate into differences in spatial patterns. As heavy Internet users worked less, they spent considerably more time at home than both moderate Internet users and non-users (Table 7).

While Internet users tended to spend more time at school than non-users, the difference was explained almost entirely by demographic factors – once respondents of the same age were compared, differences in time spent at school were no longer significant.

Perhaps one of the more telling measures from a social perspective is time spent in another person’s home. Upon initial inspection, differences in time spent at other homes were relatively modest when comparing Internet users and non-users, but again when controlling for relevant factors such as age and sex, Internet users spent considerably less time visiting others. Not surprisingly, the intensity of Internet use matters as the gap between heavy users and moderate users is considerable.

Table 7
Comparison of time spent at various locations

Heavy users also did not venture outdoors as much as non-users. This was also the case for moderate users, although the gap between moderate and non-users was smaller.

In order to better understand the relationships between Internet use and other activities, it is therefore instructive to supplement information on time use with an awareness of the spatial implications of behavioural change. The “space-time displacement” perspective is useful for understanding the impacts of new technologies on the urban economy, for example (Kwan 2003). Essentially, the limited temporal and spatial flexibility of certain activities restricts choices about other activities performed during the day. For example, a parent may be pressed to modify their hours of work depending on drop-off times and location of their child’s daycare facility.

Although the Internet and other information and communications technologies (ICTs) are often credited with eroding barriers put up by distance, there are still a number of reasons why spatial considerations remain relevant even with respect to technology use. Although availability of Internet access is expanding, there are still areas where it is not available. For some applications, such as email, users may still experience delays in communication. Other technologies, such as instant messaging and cell phones, may remain temporally or spatially fixed in terms of the time at which participants are available to communicate with each other and the location from or within which services are available (Kwan 2001, Harvey and MacNab 2000). While technological advances in general push toward relaxation of spatial constraints, there are arguments that new technologies can in fact lead to increased travel. This is perhaps due to their potential for increasing communication and awareness of the activities of other people (Mokhtarian and Meenakshisundaram 1999). At the very least, such points bring into question notions of the “end of distance” (Sciadas 2006 (forthcoming)).

Results from this survey indicate that heavy Internet users travelled less during the diary day, although the difference — nearly 14 minutes after adjustment, compared to non-users — was relatively modest considering that travel times generally exceeded one hour during the day. Moderate Internet users were likely to spend similar amounts of time travelling as non-users.

While beyond the scope of the present study, telework (or telecommuting) is a phenomenon that is perhaps reflective of the potential of ICTs (most notably the computer, the Internet, and cellular phone) to reallocate activity in both time and space. Studies of telework and its impacts on time management and other decisions represent a body of work that is important to understanding the roles ICTs play in shaping peoples’ lives both at home and in the workplace (see, for example, Duxbury and Higgins 2003).