ARTICLE
Measuring Internet Users’ Online Activity: An Application of the Super-Efficiency Data Envelopment Analysis Model
Chih Cheng Chen
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 super-efficiency data envelopment analysis (DEA) framework to investigate Internet users’ online activity at an individual level by considering their access to ICT, Internet literacy, and level of usage and offer a standard basis for measuring and comparing ICT users. We apply an OLS 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 non-urban 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.