4.2.3. Including a non-representative sample
A criticism of using technology in research is that participants
recruited from social media and online sites are not a representative
sample for most studies and that this may introduce bias. While
there has been conflicting information about the “digital divide,” especially
in people with substance use disorders [89,139] or other disadvantaged
populations, general research on Internet and mobile phone
use indicates the divide is continuing to shrink by age, income, and
race (Fig. 4 represents demographics of adults using social network
sites) (http://www.pewinternet.org/data-trend/internet-use/lateststats/
http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheets/mobile-technologyfact-
sheet/)