Measuring Internet Users' Online Activity: An Application of the Superefficiency Data Envelopment Analysis Model.

The second-level digital divide, which focuses on skills and usage, calls for a rethink of conventional indices developed for measuring access to technology. We propose a superefficiency data envelopment analysis (DEA) framework to investigate Internet users’ online activity at an individual level by considering their access to information and communication technology (ICT), Internet literacy, and level of usage, and we offer a standard basis for measuring and comparing ICT users. We apply an ordinary least squares regression to explore the factors that influence users’ online activities. Our results show that Internet users who are female, older, less educated, not in white-collar positions, earning a higher monthly income, and living in nonurban areas are more active online when all online activities are considered at the same time. However, the factors that influence individual online activities are different. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]