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Measuring Substitution Patterns in the Attention Economy: An Experimental Approach.

Substitution patterns are a crucial input to antitrust analysis, but measuring them for free digital products has proved difficult due to the lack of price variation. I measure substitution patterns by installing software on experimental participants' Android phones that restricts access to Instagra...

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Published in:RAND Journal of Economics (Wiley-Blackwell) Vol. 56; no. 3; pp. 302 - 325
Main Author: Aridor, Guy
Format: Article
Published: Wiley-Blackwell Fall2025
Subjects:
Android (Operating system)
Digital media
Consumer preferences
Time management
Empirical research
Consumer behavior
Antitrust law
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
Summary:Substitution patterns are a crucial input to antitrust analysis, but measuring them for free digital products has proved difficult due to the lack of price variation. I measure substitution patterns by installing software on experimental participants' Android phones that restricts access to Instagram or YouTube—generating variation in choice sets—and monitoring how participants reallocate their time. I find that participants substitute to multiple product categories in both restrictions but also substantially for nondigital activities. These results imply that using product characteristics as a proxy for relevant markets may incorrectly specify the relevant set of substitutes in these contexts.