Time allocation inequality: An economic analysis of digital leisure

Details

Supervisors

Panin, Amma

Faculty

Faculté des sciences économiques, sociales, politiques et de communication

Degree label

Master [120] en sciences économiques, orientation générale, à finalité spécialisée

Abstract

enRecent concerns about time invested in digital leisure have attracted research in behavioral sciences and economics. This work explores the time allocation economics of smartphone leisure activities using Becker’s (1965) theory of the allocation of time. The theoretical adaptation is applied to the Korean context using the Korean Smartphone Overdependence Survey for 2023-2024. The econometric estimation describes statistically significant negative associations between the wage and (i) smartphone time share on leisure, (ii) short-video share of video consumption and (iii) misalignment between actual and desired leisure allocation. These estimations depict a gradient among economic groups who have unequal allocation of time in smartphone leisure activities. These findings can be used to argue about potential unequal effects found in the literature on the use of these technologies among the population.