Possible Futures All at Once: Time Frame and Time Lag in Intensive Longitudinal Media Effects Research on Well-Being

When assessing media effects, we seldomly consider how they change over time. Especially with the prevalence of smartphone use as short-lived, fragmented media use, a systematic approach to temporal dimensions is crucial, particularly to understand mixed effects of smartphone use on situational well-being. We employ a multiverse approach to assess the influence of two central temporal dimensions in intensive longitudinal media effects research: Time frame and time lag. We combine mobile experience sampling (T1 = 2,859, T2 = 7,708) and log data (K1 = 71,807, K2 = 259,004) from N1 = 84 and N2 = 192 participants. Building on theorizing on time in media effects research, we propose four patterns of how short-term effects on situational well-being unfold: they may follow processes of ephemerality (fleeting effects), inertia (delayed onset), reversal (changing directions) – or there are no changes over time. We discuss theoretical implications and give recommendations for future studies.