Abstract

Polychronicity is time use preference, which people acquire through socialization. The literature shows that polychrons, who favor simultaneous activities, and monochrons, who favor linear activities, exhibit different perceptual and behavioral patterns. This article examines the relationship among polychronicity, Internet skills, Internet use, and Internet perception. In addition, it investigates the hypothesis that Internet use displaces other activity. A total of 1,048 adult Singapore citizens and permanent residents participated in a computer-assisted telephone interview. Of these, 380 were non-Internet users and 668 were users. For the purpose of this study, only responses from the 668 Internet users were included in the analyses. Two-stage least squares regression analyses showed that polychronicity was not associated with Internet use, but it predicted Internet perception. Internet skills positively predicted Internet use and perception. The Internet neither displaced nor promoted television viewing, radio listening, and newspaper reading. However, there was some indication that polychronicity suppressed television viewing.

Introduction

Regardless of status and stature, everyone has only 24 hours in a day. In fast-paced societies, it seems hard to argue against the value of time. Since time is a finite resource, many modern-day innovations and services—ranging from supersonic jet planes and fast-food outlets—are aimed at helping people save time. Simultaneity and instantaneity probably best describe the post-Internet life (Lee & Liebenau, 2000; Lee & Whitley, 2002). We can send email via our cellular phones, and synchronize our calendars with colleagues who are located thousands of miles away. We can have meetings without traveling, work from home, and share experiences with long-lost relatives, as well as with strangers.

A study in Singapore showed that 60% of secondary-one students (or 7th-graders) attributed their increase in productivity to the Internet (Kuo, Choi, Mahizhnan, Lee, & Soh, 2002). Over the last decade, Internet use has soared around the world. This technology presents an alternative way for people to accomplish their tasks. The Internet has allowed many daily activities to migrate online—be it shop, talk, play, or work. Therefore, depending on what people do online, the Internet is not simply an activity, it is also a time management tool.

If we were to believe that time is finite, then it would be easy for us to conclude that an increase in one activity will necessarily lead to a reduction in another. However, this logic is not without criticism and challenge. Scholars have pointed out that the idea of limited time is rooted in Western rationality, and that time management style and time perception are often influenced by culture (Kaufman, Lane, & Lindquist, 1991; Lee & Liebenau, 2000). Anthropologist Edward Hall (1959/1990; 1983/1989) was among the first to identify cultural differences in time perception and management.

Hall observed that some cultures are monochronic, while others are polychronic. In monochronic cultures, people prefer to do things in a structured and linear manner. Monochrons like to do things one at a time; they detest disruptions to their plans and stick closely to their schedules. Northern Europeans and North Americans are typical monochrons. In polychronic cultures, such as Latin America and the Middle East, deadlines, plans, and schedules have less meaning. Polychrons are laid-back and less regimented. Moreover, it is a common practice for polychrons to entertain multiple demands and to handle several tasks simultaneously. As such, polychrons seem to live a rather relaxed and yet chaotic life.

It is clear that polychrons and monochrons have different perceptions and behavioral patterns. However, do they use and perceive information technology, such as the Internet, differently?

Polychronicity

For simplicity's sake, we will continue to use the terms monochronicity and polychronicity, although we recognize fully that they are opposite ends of a continuum. Since Hall's seminal work, researchers—especially those in the field of management and organizational behavior—have attempted to operationalize and measure this cultural dimension. Polychronicity is a macro-level construct. However, recent researchers have examined it at organizational and individual levels. For example, Bluedorn, Kaufman, and their associates have developed scales to quantify polychronicity (Bluedorn, Kalliath, Strube, & Martin, 1999; Bluedorn, Kaufman, & Lane, 1992), which allow individuals to compare their own time propensity to group and organizational cultures. This, in turn, helps to explain and reconcile differences in work patterns and time management preferences (Conte, Rizzuto, & Steiner, 1999; Kaufman et al., 1991; Palmer & Schoorman, 1999; Slocombe, 1999).

Overall, the literature portrays monochrons as people who prefer to complete one task before taking on another. They plan and follow schedules, and disruptions to their plans can cause negative feelings. They may delay certain tasks so that they can focus on a particular activity (Kaufman-Scarborough & Lindquist, 1999b). On the other hand, polychrons are good at multitasking and restructuring activities to accomplish their goals. Compared to monochrons, they are better at "squeezing" out more time. They appear more flexible and spontaneous, and at work, they seem able to cope with pressure and uncertainty.

As mentioned earlier, Hall gave the impression that polychrons are laid-back and less concerned about deadlines and schedules. In other words, Hall's polychrons may have a problem functioning in a hectic, goal-oriented world. Recent research, however, paints a different picture. Polychrons' flexibility and ability to cope with uncertainty are strengths. Conte et al. (1999) found that polychronicity is negatively related to time urgency. That is, urgent tasks can motivate polychrons more than monochrons—contradicting Hall's description of time-insensitive polychrons. However, the authors confirmed that polychrons are less likely to rely on schedules, are less aware of time, are less organized, and are unpredictable. Regardless, polychronicity seems to be a positive attribute in some contexts. For example, it is found to be positively associated with organizational performance (Onken, 1999). Researchers are careful not to regard either monochronicity or polychronicity as negative. They emphasize that neither is good nor bad; it all depends on a match between individuals, and between individuals and their environments.

Interestingly, some studies are not fully supportive of Hall's observations, even though researchers have attributed their original idea to him. For example, Hall labeled the French as polychrons, and yet Conte et al. (1999) could not fully support this observation. Similarly, Japanese students did not conform to Hall's description of polychrons (Lindquist, Knieling, & Kaufman-Scarborough, 2001). In another study, Cotte and Ratneshwar (1999) found that new Latina immigrants actually exhibited monochronic behaviors at work—which was contrary to expectations.

Such inconsistencies can be explained by methodological, contextual, conceptual, and interpretation differences. First, Hall relied on field observation, while recent researchers have used quantitative surveys or experiments. Methodological differences can easily lead to inconsistent findings. Next, Hall conducted his research several decades ago in foreign or non-white American societies, while recent researchers were likely to conduct their research at work or educational contexts. Third, polychronicity is multidimensional (Conte et al., 1999), and measurements may not reflect all aspects. Finally, external demands can cause people to switch time management strategies, and individuals do adjust to their environments. Latina immigrants to the U.S. adopt monochronic work style because they believe polychronic behaviors will lead to lower work quality and unfocused work attitude (Cotte & Ratneshwar, 1999). People with multiple roles tend to adopt polychronic behaviors, such as combining tasks and multi-tasking, in order to cope with various demands (Kaufman et al., 1991). Slocombe (1999) posited a variety of causes—ranging from fatigue, educational level, to cross-cultural encounters—that may elicit monochronic or polychronic behaviors.

The literature shows three types of polychronicity research. The first type compares time-use preferences and perceptions across cultures. The next group examines individual differences within a single culture. The last type crosses units of analysis to investigate how individual time use preferences and perceptions can influence a group of people, and vice versa. Our study falls within the second category. Our goal is to explore the relationship between individuals' polychronicity and the Internet.

Several theories have underscored the importance of perception in determining technology use, such as the Technology Acceptance Model (Davis, 1989; Davis & Venkatesh, 1996), the Diffusion of Innovation theory, and the theory of Reasoned Action (Karahanna, Straub, & Chervany, 1999). A recent meta-analysis by Sun and Zhang (in press) showed that perceived usefulness is "an important, if not the most important, factor" in determining technology use (p. 17). The authors also said that perceived ease of use is important, although its influence on behavior is less consistent. Various factors, including individual characteristics and culture, are likely to moderate the relationship between perceived ease of use and technology usage.

Intuitively, polychronicity should have a positive correlation with Internet use. This is because the technology seems to suit polychrons' tastes. First, the Internet is flexible and erases the need to follow a fixed schedule. Users can go online for a variety of services around the clock, and they need not worry about establishments' closing time. Second, the Internet allows multitasking. Users can download information from the library, while browsing at an online bookstore and monitoring email correspondence at the same time. As such, polychrons should regard the Internet as a technology that suits their style of flexibility, spontaneity, and multitasking; and they are likely to perceive the Internet to be a useful and convenient tool.

Therefore, we hypothesize that polychronicity is positively associated with Internet use and Internet perception:

H1: Polychronicity is positively associated with Internet use.
H2: Polychronicity is positively associated with Internet perception.

Internet use is associated with various factors, including access and demographic variables, such as income and age (Rice & Katz, 2003); privacy and security concerns (Forsythe & Shi, 2003); and psychological factors (Barbeite & Weiss, 2004). In this study, we include Internet skills as a predictor. The literature shows that Internet ability is related to users' attitude and behavior toward the technology (Agarwal, Sambamurthy, & Stair, 2000). Information technology competency—be it perceived or real—is positively associated with usage and perception (Albirini, in press; Beas & Salanova, in press; Eastin & LaRose, 2000; Ebersole, 2000). We argue that polychronicity is a predisposition that motivates people to use the Internet. However, the lack of Internet skills will handicap their use and affect their perception. As such, we hypothesize that:

H3: Internet skill is positively associated with Internet use.
H4: Internet skill is positively associated with Internet perception.

The Displacement Hypothesis

As discussed earlier, polychrons are comfortable with restructuring their activities and multitasking, and they seem to know how to squeeze out more time (Kaufman-Scarborough & Lindquist, 1999a). While polychronicity does not change the fact that everyone has only 24 hours in a day, it does challenge the idea that an increase in time spent in one activity will necessarily lead to a decrease in another.

The displacement hypothesis has received much attention in the television viewing literature. In the 1950s, some scholars and parents were concerned that television would hijack the attention of people, and would displace various activities, ranging from reading to play time. More than four decades later, we experienced déjà vu as the Internet gained in popularity. In the context of the media industry, time is money—the more people spend time on a particular medium, the more the media executives can charge advertisers.

The displacement hypothesis posits a negative relationship between two activities. According to the hypothesis, displacement depends on four principles: functional similarity, physical and psychological proximity, marginal fringe activities, and transformation (Neuman, 1991). The first principle states that two activities may provide a similar function, but the one less efficient in fulfilling needs risks displacement. The second principle predicts that when two activities share a physical space, the one that is less satisfying may be displaced. Third, marginal and unstructured activities are more likely to be displaced than structured ones. Finally, activities that fail to change and adapt to challenges will be displaced. Based on these four principles, it is possible to predict whether one activity will displace another.

In this article, we examine the relationship between Internet use and three media activities: television viewing, radio listening, and newspaper reading. If we were to apply the four displacement principles, then we might conclude that television would be the Internet's greatest casualty. This is because, like television, the Internet entertains and informs; but it also allows for interactivity, interpersonal relationship, and asynchronicity (Ruggiero, 2000). Moreover, television and the Internet often share the same physical space and are in direct competition for attention. If they are not in the same room, they are still within the household. Compared to television, newspapers should fare better. Their credibility and portability should keep them safe for the time being. Radio has undergone a major transformation with the advent of television, changing from an information-oriented medium to one that supplies music entertainment (Neuman, 1991). Radio is compatible with many activities, such as driving, cooking, jogging, and even surfing the Internet. Therefore, it seems unlikely that the Internet would displace radio.

However, the relationships among the Internet, television, radio, and newspapers are not so simple. Thus far, time displacement studies have yielded inconsistent results. In the case of television, researchers have presented various reasons as to why the popular medium may or may not be able to displace other activities. Numerous factors are responsible for moderating the displacement effect; these include television's novelty (Neuman, 1991) and content (Huston, Wright, Marquis, & Green, 1999), as well as the audience's characteristics and viewing environment (Larson & Verma, 1999). Modern technologies that allow us to enjoy ubiquitous access to media content further complicate the situation.

The same inconsistency is evident in research about the Internet's displacement effect. Some studies have been successful in demonstrating that Internet time use reduces media use (Kayany & Yelsma, 2000; Robinson, Kestnbaum, Neustadtl, & Alvarez, 2002). Others have failed to show a significant relationship (Cole & Robinson, 2002; Gershuny, 2002). As media researchers have suggested, such inconsistencies can be attributed to conceptual and methodological problems (Mutz, Roberts, & Van Vuuren, 1993; Neuman, 1991), which have not been properly resolved. The issue of causality remains despite the use of longitudinal (Kestnbaum, Robinson, Neustadtl, & Alvarez, 2002; Robinson et al., 2002) and panel data (Gershuny, 2002). As mentioned above, displacement depends on four principles, which are primarily about the functions of activities. Few researchers have expanded to investigate functional, instead of time, displacement (Ferguson & Perse, 2000). Earlier studies tended to focus on the relationship between two activities, which could be less than holistic. Although recent studies have included more activities (Gershuny, 2002; Kestnbaum et al., 2002), results are still inconsistent.

To complicate matters, the Internet seems to promote the use of certain media in some instances (Lee & Kuo, 2001). According to the engagement hypothesis, the relationship between two activities can be positive (Mutz et al., 1993). For example, after reading an article in the newspaper, we may become curious and decide to find out more by surfing the Internet. As such, time spent on one activity may actually stimulate another. Another explanation is that the Internet helps to free up time so that people can participate in other activities (Nie & Hillygus, 2002), which is in line with the idea that polychrons are skilled at restructuring and reprioritizing activities in order to accommodate new tasks. Therefore, we ask:

RQ1: What is the relationship between Internet use and (a) television viewing, (b) radio listening, and (c) newspaper reading?

Method

Sampling and Procedure

A total of 1,048 Singapore citizens and permanent residents, all aged 18 and above, participated in a telephone survey, via a computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) system, December 1-8, 2003. We recruited 30 university students as interviewers. Most were bilingual. We provided two hours of mandatory training—one hour on telephone interview skills, and one hour on understanding the questionnaire. During data collection, two of the researchers were present as supervisors. Moreover, we used a private automatic branch exchange (PABX) telephone system, which allowed supervisors to listen in for quality control purposes.

The random-digit-dialing (RDD) technique was used and each number was attempted eight times. To randomize within household, trained interviewers would ask to speak with the youngest male, 18 years old and above, who was at home. If there were no qualified male, the interviewers would ask for the oldest female, 18 years old and above, who was at home. This youngest male/oldest female (YMOF) technique was simple and was able to yield relatively representative samples both outside (Gaziano, 2005; Kennedy, 1993) and inside Singapore (Willnat, Lee, & Detenber, 2002). Respondents had a choice to be interviewed in three of the four official Singapore languages: English, Mandarin Chinese, or Malay. The fourth official language, Tamil, was not used. This was because the Tamil speaking population was small, and most also spoke English.

Each interview lasted about 15 minutes. Partial interviews were treated as incompletes and were excluded from the sample. The response rate, calculated using an American Association for Public Opinion Research formula 3 (American Association for Public Opinion Research, 2004) was 46.5%.

Overall, the sample mirrored Singapore's population (compared to the 2000 census data) in terms of gender, ethnicity, marital status, and age groups. It over-sampled people with a monthly household income of S$2,000-$2,999, and under-sampled people without formal education. For the purpose of this inquiry, 380 non-Internet users were omitted, and only responses from 668 Internet users were included in the analyses.

Measures

The survey instrument covered a variety of aspects, such as Internet and media use, perceptions, social interaction, and family relationship. The following variables were selected for this study.

Polychronicity

Individual-level polychronicity was measured with the Kaufman et al.'s (1991) index. The original items were: (1) "I am comfortable doing several things at the same time," (2) "When I sit down at my desk, I work on one project at a time," (3) "People should not try to do many things at once," and (4) "I do not like to juggle several activities at the same time." In this study, respondents were asked to express their level of agreement on a 5-point scale to the above items (1 = strongly agree, 2 = agree, 3 = neutral, 4 = disagree, 5 = strongly disagree). However, two modifications were introduced. First, the first-person pronoun "I" was changed to "you." This was to avoid confusion during telephone interviews. In the past, respondents in Singapore thought that "I" referred to the interviewers instead of themselves. Second, item 2 was shortened to "You work on one project at a time." This was because not all projects required people to work from their desks. Kaufman and her associates achieved a .67 alpha reliability score in their research. Coincidently, this study also yielded the same level of reliability.

Internet Skill

Respondents were asked if they knew how to perform the following activities, which ranged from simple to relatively difficult: send an email; print or save information from the web; use web search engines; participate in online chat sessions; upload software, photos, videos or audio files; set up a web page; and set up a listserv or bulletin board. Each positive answer was given a score of 1 point. Thus, the lowest and highest possible scores were 0 and 7, respectively.

Internet Perception

We used five items to measure Internet perception: (1) "The Internet is unimportant to you"; (2) "The Internet is not a useful tool to you"; (3) "The Internet is interesting to you"; (4) "The Internet can make your life convenient"; and (5) "The Internet is difficult for you to use." For each item, respondents rated their agreement level on a 5-point scale (1 = strongly agree; 5 = strongly disagree). These items were used in previous Singapore Internet studies (Kuo et al., 2002). In this study, the reliability was .65.

Time Spent

Respondents were asked to report the number of hour per week they spent on the Internet at home. They also reported their weekly television viewing, radio listening, and newspaper reading hours.

Findings

Table 1 presents the means and standard deviations for polychronicity, Internet skill, Internet perception, and time spent with the Internet, television, radio, and newspapers. Because time measures have wide ranges, medians are also included in Table 1. The findings show that Internet use at home has increased. In 1999, Singaporeans spent 5.2 hours per week on the Internet at home (Kuo et al., 2002), whereas this study showed a mean of 10.5 hours. However, time spent on television, radio, and newspapers remained relatively stable.¹

Due to the potential bidirectional influence between independent and dependent variables, we conducted two-stage least squares regression analyses to test Hypotheses 1-4. The time data (i.e., hours spent on the Internet, television, radio, and newspapers) ranged widely and violated normality. Therefore, we used their natural log transformations for analyses. Table 2 summarizes the regression analyses for all four hypotheses.

In the first regression, polychronicity and Internet skill were entered simultaneously as predictors, and the log of Internet use as the dependent variable. The regression model was significant, F(2, 657)=91.78, p<.001, and its R-square was 22%. Although the Pearson's correlation indicated a significant association (rho=.1, p<.01), the regression analysis failed to support H1, which predicted a positive relationship with Internet use. However, the result supported H3 that polychronicity was positively associated with Internet perception (β=.47, p<.001). Further analyses showed that there might be an interaction effect, which will be elaborated in the discussion section.

In the second regression, polychronicity and Internet skills remained as predictors, but the dependent variable was Internet perception. The regression model was significant, F(2, 665)=39.50, p<.001, and its R-square was 11%. The result confirmed H2, which stated that polychronicity was positively associated with Internet perception (β=.16, p<.001). It also supported H4 that Internet skill was positively associated with Internet perception (β=.25, p<.001).

RQ1 aimed at determining the relationship between Internet use and television viewing, radio listening, and newspaper reading. The correlation coefficients in Table 3 show that Internet use had no relationship—positive or negative—with time spent on the three traditional media. Due to the lack of relationship, we did not pursue further analyses. Interestingly, television viewing, radio listening, and newspaper reading were positively associated with one another. It is also worth noting that polychronicity had a weak negative relationship with television viewing (rho=-.07, p<.05).

Discussion

One of the objectives of this study was to examine the relationship between polychronicity and the Internet. The central idea rests with the assumption that time use preference affects the way people use information technology. According to the literature, individuals acquire time management styles from their respective cultures (Hall, 1959/1990, 1983/1989). However, this does not mean that within a culture, there is no variance among individuals. Researchers have measured polychronicity at individual and group levels, and have examined the mismatch between levels (Bluedorn et al., 1999; Kaufman-Scarborough & Lindquist, 1999b). Mismatch can cause stress and other problems.

To recapitulate, polychrons are adept at multi-tasking, and in restructuring and reorganizing activities. They are flexible and comfortable with uncertainty. Their lives often seem more chaotic due to their habit of juggling several tasks at once and frequently changing schedules. Monochrons, on the other hand, prefer to focus on one task at a time. They hate disruptions and changes to plans. They appear focused and efficient.

Polychronicity, Internet Skills, and the Internet

This difference in behaviors leads us to believe that polychronicity is associated with Internet use and perception. For one, the Internet is a technology that allows users to be flexible and to multitask. Therefore, it makes sense that the Internet will attract polychrons. Our results show a positive bivariate correlation between polychronicity and Internet use. However, the regression analysis does not support a significant relationship. We have entered Internet skill as a variable in the regression equation because it is an important predictor of Internet use. Results show that a one-unit increase in Internet skill leads to 34.65% increase in the average Internet hour per week, while a one-unit increase in polychronicity can only increase it by less than 1%.² We offer two plausible explanations for this observation. First, there may be an interaction effect between polychronicity and Internet skills on Internet use. Second, Internet use may be insufficient to capture the differences between polychrons and monochrons.

In this study, all participants were Internet users. However, they did not have equal Internet skills. We suspect that low-skill users were less able to exploit the technology. Internet novices may find online activities daunting. Therefore, less-skilled polychrons may not benefit from the Internet. For example, they may consider that it would be faster for them to run to the bank, and while on their way, drop by the bookstore and talk to their friends on the phone than to figure out how to do an online fund transfer. However, high-skilled polychrons may find the technology efficient and productive, and therefore be more likely to use it.

To explore if an interaction effect existed, we undertook an additional two-stage least squares regression analysis. We kept polychronicity as one of the predictors. However, we substituted Internet skill with an interaction term between polychronicity and Internet skill. The analysis showed a significant interaction effect (β=.64, p<.001). By doing so, we increased the R-square from 22% to 23%. However, this change is not large. We also examined this by using the analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Figure 1 illustrates the interaction.

We created three categories of polychronicity (low, moderate, high) and three groups of Internet skills (low, moderate, high). Again, we observed a significant interaction effect, F(4, 651)=2.92, p<.05. Again, the partial eta-squared is low (1.8%). Therefore, we suggest that future research can investigate this phenomenon further.

Interaction aside, time use by itself, may be insufficient to reflect differences between polychrons and monochrons. Indeed, the Internet allows people to multitask and to be flexible. However, it does not stop people from doing things in a planned and sequential manner. Arguably, monochrons can use the Internet for a long period because they focus on online task one at a time. On the other hand, it is conceivable that polychrons log off sooner because they multitask and are able to accomplish their objectives within a short period. Thus, we are unable to observe a linear relationship between polychronicity and time use.

We recognize the reliance on time use measures as one of the shortcomings of this study. For one, it is difficult to have an accurate measurement of time spent on various activities, especially for people who multitask. Moreover, time does not reflect the nature of activities. Future study should attempt to investigate what polychrons and monochrons do on the Internet, and their perception of Internet's functions. Are they using the Internet for the same purposes? For example, some people use the Internet to restructure activities and multitask, while others spend long hours playing online games. These activities are fundamentally different.

As expected, this study showed that both polychronicity and Internet skills positively predict Internet perception. This is consistent with research on competency and perception. As people become more skillful, they have better experience and therefore see things more positively. Results show that polychronicity predicts Internet perception, but not Internet use. However, Internet skills predict both. Taken together, this seems to suggest polychrons hold positive attitudes toward the Internet, but their skill level may be a barrier.

Internet and Mass Media

This study showed that television viewing, radio listening, and newspaper reading all positively correlated with each other. This lends support to the enhancement hypothesis. However, this study provided no evidence that Internet use will displace or promote television viewing, radio listening, and newspaper reading. As such, it supports neither the displacement nor the engagement hypothesis with regards with the Internet and mass media.

Unfortunately, past research has provided inconsistent findings. This study can only offer another piece of evidence to dispel the concern of the Internet displacing other media activities, but it does not help resolve inconsistent findings. This brings us back to an earlier point about examining what people do on the Internet. An earlier Singapore study showed that adults spent 30% of Internet time on email, 15% on online discussion and chat, 37% on information search, 15% on entertainment, and the rest on transaction (Kuo et al., 2002). While these data may be out of date, it may still help explain the lack of relationship between the Internet and other media activities. Television, radio, and newspaper's functions are primarily on entertainment and information. However, respondents in the Kuo et al. (2002) study spent about half of their Internet time on communication and transaction. Even though the other half was on entertainment and information, these uses and gratifications might still be inherently different. For example, online information seeking is active and interactive, which is different from passive reception of information via television, radio, and newspapers.

Interestingly, in this study, polychronicity was negatively correlated with television viewing, but it is not related to radio listening and newspaper reading. This seems to contradict the characteristics of polychrons. According to the literature, polychrons know how to restructure activities and multitask to free up time for other things. In this case, they did not make time for television viewing. One explanation is that polychrons are inherently busy and treat television viewing as a fringe activity—as described by the third displacement principle.

Future Research

Earlier, we mentioned a few aspects that require improvement or more research. One is the possible interaction effect between polychronicity and Internet skills. Predisposition, without the accompanying ability, may not be sufficient to elicit actions. In this study, we measured Internet skills by asking if respondents knew how to perform seven online tasks (e.g., sending email). Future research can explore other measurements, such as Internet self-efficacy. We also highlighted the shortfall of measuring time use alone, and that research should inquire into the nature of online activities.

While our study treated polychronicity as a predictor, it is also possible to examine whether the Internet affects polychronicity. As mentioned above, time use preference is learned and people do make adjustments. In general, monochrons and polychrons believe that their way of managing time is the best way (Bluedorn et al., 1999; Slocombe, 1999). However, there is evidence that people switch from using a monochronic strategy to a polychronic strategy when there is a need (Kaufman-Scarborough & Lindquist, 1999b; Waller, Giambatista, & Zellmer-Bruhn, 1999). Scholars have argued that technology shapes our perception and worldview. Such impact can affect future generations and alter history (Lee & Liebenau, 2000; Lee & Whitley, 2002). In other words, the Internet has the potential to change a whole generation of users—perhaps from being monochrons to polychrons—and thus, change culture.

This study looked at individual differences within a single culture. Cross-cultural comparison of the relationship between polychronicity and Internet use can expand our understanding of this technology, which transcends geographic boundaries. It would also be interesting to examine micro-macro level interaction, such as between individual predisposition and group culture.

This study only examined home use, which is a volitional behavior. Home users have to make a conscious decision and invest in hardware, software, and connections. This keeps the analysis and interpretation simple. However, Internet use at work is constrained by organizational cultures, policies, job functions, and infrastructure. Future studies may want to look at Internet use and polychronicity outside the home. In addition, this study did not take into account users' mode of access. Presumably, technology is associated with flexibility of use and satisfaction. For example, some websites and online content require wide bandwidth and fast connections. As such, users without cutting-edge hardware and software may not be able to use the Internet as an efficient time management tool.

Finally, this study did not explore the role of technology convergence. Modern lifestyles are characterized by ubiquitous access to media content and communication channels via wireless technology (Friedewald, Da Costa, Punie, Alahuhta, & Heinonen, 2005). The function of a medium has expanded. For example, individuals can now watch television on buses and on computers, log on to the Internet with their PDAs and cellular phones, and receive text messages from news agencies. Future studies should examine how polychronicity is associated with the use of various technologies.

Conclusion

This article calls attention to the role of culture in the study of technology use. Polychronicity is a macro-level, cultural construct. However, we operationalized it in this study as individuals' time use propensity. The rationale is that people acquire time management skills from their culture; and that within a culture, there will be varying degrees of polychronicity among people. Although the present study did not include cross-cultural comparison data, the findings imply the importance of culture. This point is highlighted by Sun and Zhang (in press), who argue that researchers should consider the mediating power of cultural dimensions in technology adoption. However, the reverse may also be true. The Internet is a flexible, fast, and multipurpose technology. As we become more skilled at using the Internet, it may start to shape the way we manage our time and our lives, and eventually our culture.

Notes

1. According to Kuo et al. (2002), Singaporeans spent an average of 13, 8.7, and 5.6 hours per week on television, radio, and newspapers, respectively.
2. We transformed Internet use into its natural logarithm. Therefore, the betas would not reflect changes in its original units, and should be interpreted differently.

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About the Authors

Waipeng Lee is an Assistant Professor at the School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Her research focuses on Internet use, persuasion, and public opinion. Her recent projects include e-health, IT use and the Asian Tsunami, and the Internet and religion.
Address: School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University, 31 Nanyang Link, Singapore 637718

Trevor M. K. Tan is a Photojournalist at Today, a Singapore daily, where he also writes about information technology issues. Before joining the newspaper, he was a Project Officer for the Singapore Internet Project at the School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University.
Address: School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University, 31 Nanyang Link, Singapore 637718

Shahiraa Shahul Hameed is a Research Associate at the School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University. She is also an Associate at the Singapore Internet Research Centre at the same institution. Her research interests include how new media technologies affect individuals and societies, and how individual and social differences shape people's behaviors.
Address: School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University, 31 Nanyang Link, Singapore 637718