Capturing media and culture in everyday life. Employing experiencing sampling methodology

This paper proposes new methodology to study how media and culture are embedded in the everyday lives of people. Using Experience Sampling Methodology, the paper examines (a) how participation in media and culture looks like during an ordinary week, and (b) how this participation impacts subjective well-being.
Gaining insight into the importance of media and culture in daily life has often been done via survey and interview methods which are less ecologically valid. Therefore, we use Experience Sampling Methodology (EST), which is a diary survey type which allows researchers to examine what people do, feel and think during their daily life. More than 300 respondents across Europe received during one week in June 2022 four times a day a short survey on their smartphone that asked about their practices in the hours just before they received the survey – yielding more accurate and detailed measures of participation in media and culture than regular surveys.
Furthermore, participation is connected to well-being. Previous studies have signaled the potential for culture to improve the subjective well-being of citizens. However, the conception of culture in these studies has been relatively narrow, and mediated forms of culture are often excluded.
Preliminary results show the large variety of participation in media and culture during the week. There is a significant positive impact of participation on wellbeing, but audiovisual entertainment is associated with lower wellbeing.
The benefits and drawbacks of EST for future studies seeking momentarily assessment in daily life is discussed.