Study title

Digitalisation of Everyday Life in Finland 2017-2018

Dataset ID Number

FSD3500

Persistent identifier

urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3500

Data Type

Quantitative

Authors

• Sivonen, Jukka (University of Turku)
• Koivula, Aki (University of Turku)
• Saarinen, Arttu (University of Turku)

Abstract

The survey charted the use of digital devices, social media, and online services in Finland. Main themes of the survey also included societal values, civic participation, social relationships, and well-being.

Media use was investigated with questions on how often the respondents did certain things (e.g. use the internet, listen to radio programs or podcasts, write on discussion boards, use instant messaging applications). The respondents were also asked whether they used certain digital devices and services (e.g. smart phone, computer, broadband internet, smart watch) and how important these were for their everyday lives. The role of the internet in the respondents' everyday lives was explored by asking how important the internet was for them in terms of banking, booking doctor's appointments, purchasing products and services, and keeping in touch with others.

The respondents' digital skills were charted by asking them, for example, whether they knew how to download and save files from the internet or clear their browser history. Additionally, views on the trustworthiness of internet sources and the ease of finding reliable information online were surveyed.

The respondents were asked about the purposes for which they used social media, whether they knew what kind of information was appropriate to share on social media, and their membership in social media communities. Additionally, the respondents' use of different social media platforms and compulsive social media use were charted. Attitudes towards social media were examined with questions on, for example, whether the respondents were concerned about hate speech or fake news on social media, how they engaged with opinions that differed from their own on social media, and whether social media had made them feel pressure over their appearance.

Civic participation was charted by asking the respondents whether in the last five years they had, for example, voted in parliamentary elections, taken part in a demonstration, donated money to charity or volunteered. Political party affiliation and the respondents' alignment on left-right and liberal-conservative political spectrums were also surveyed. Additionally, the respondents' views on various questions (e.g. the right to abortion, same-sex marriage, cuts to social security, dismantling the welfare state) and their trust in institutions (e.g. the government, the judicial system, politicians, the European parliament, news outlets) were investigated.

The respondents' social relationships were examined with questions on how many friends they had on social media, how much they used social media to keep in touch with friends, how often they felt lonely, and how often they used social media to alleviate feelings of loneliness. Experiences of online harassment and bullying were also charted. The respondents were asked about their satisfaction with their body and appearance, and well-being was surveyed with statements on, for example, health, self-confidence, future expectations, and overall life satisfaction.

Background information included the respondent's gender, year of birth , NUTS2 and NUTS3 regions of residence, marital status, household characteristics, level of education, occupation, sector of employment, and monthly household gross income.

Keywords

citizen participation; computer literacy; digitization; instant messaging; internet; mass media; mass media use; mass media use; media literacy; online services; psychological well-being; social interaction; social media; social networks; trust

Topic Classification

• Social sciences (Fields of Science Classification)
• Information society (CESSDA Topic Classification)

Series

Individual datasets

Distributor

Finnish Social Science Data Archive

Access

The dataset is (C) available only for research including master's theses.

Data Collector

• University of Turku. Unit of Economic Sociology
• Taloustutkimus

Time Period Covered

2017 – 2018

Collection Dates

2017-12 – 2018-12

Nation

Finland

Geographical Coverage

Finland

Analysis/Observation Unit Type

Individual

Universe

Finnish-speaking people aged 15-74 who live in Finland

Time Method

Cross-section

Sampling Procedure

Mixed probability and non-probability

The first phase of the survey was conducted as a postal survey and probability sampling was used to select a sample of 8000 individuals from the population register. Out of those contacted, 13 individuals were not reached so the sample consisted of 7987 persons. 2470 individuals responded to the postal survey and the response rate was 30,9%. Additionally, 1254 voluntary respondents were reached through a Taloustutkimus online panel.

Collection Mode

Self-administered questionnaire: Web-based (CAWI)

Self-administered questionnaire: Paper

Research Instrument

Structured questionnaire

Data File Language

Downloaded data package may contain different language versions of the same files.

The data files of this dataset are available in the following languages: Finnish.

FSD translates quantitative data into English on request, free of charge. More information on ordering data translation.

Data Version

1.0

Completeness of Data and Restrictions

To prevent identification of respondents, the following changes were made at FSD: variables concerning education level, economic activity, field of education (q7), and survey feedback (q39) were removed, the number of household members variables was top-coded, and the post code and municipality variables were removed, while the region variable formed by the researchers was retained in the data. The researchers categorised the responses to the occupation variable according to the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO-08).

Weighting

The data are not completely representative of the population in terms of age, gender, media use, and education. Thus, three weight variables (weight1, weight2, weight3) were created to balance the skewness in the data. Weight1 corrects the data for gender and age. Weight2 contains a weighting coefficient which corrects the data to be representative of the population in terms of social media use. Weight3 contains a weighting coefficient that balances education-related skewness in the data. For more information on the weight variables, see the research report listed under Related materials.

Citation Requirement

The data and its creators shall be cited in all publications and presentations for which the data have been used. The bibliographic citation may be in the form suggested by the archive or in the form required by the publication.

Bibliographical Citation

Sivonen, Jukka (University of Turku) & Koivula, Aki (University of Turku) & Saarinen, Arttu (University of Turku): Digitalisation of Everyday Life in Finland 2017-2018 [dataset]. Version 1.0 (2022-03-04). Finnish Social Science Data Archive [distributor]. https://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:fsd:T-FSD3500

Deposit Requirement

Notify FSD of all publications where you have used the data by sending the citation information to user-services.fsd@tuni.fi.

Disclaimer

The original data creators and the archive bear no responsibility for any results or interpretations arising from the reuse of the data.

Related Materials

Sivonen, Jukka & Koivula, Aki & Saarinen, Arttu & Keipi, Teo (2018) Working papers in economic sociology : research report on the Finland in the digital age -survey. Turku: University of Turku.

Related Publications

Sivonen, Jukka & Koivula, Aki & Saarinen, Arttu & Keipi, Teo (2018) Working papers in economic sociology : research report on the Finland in the digital age -survey. Turku: University of Turku.