Smith, ConalCross, MattDuncan, ScottGrimes, ArthurHowden-Chapman, PhilippaLe Gros, LydiaLogan, AmberMacKay, LisaMcPhee, JuliaMurphy, KateNarayanan, AnanthaPenny, GuyPierse, NevilStewart, Tom2026-01-282026-01-282026-01-12International Journal of Wellbeing, 16(1), pp. 1-27. ISSN: 1179-8602 (Print); 1179-8602 (Online). DOI: 10.5502/ijw.v16i1.46931179-86021179-8602http://hdl.handle.net/10292/20553<jats:p>Since 2010 the widespread availability of smartphones has lowered barriers to collecting experienced wellbeing (EWB) data through ecological momentary assessment (EMA). This paper reports on two New Zealand studies that explore the impact of social context, activity, and the diurnal cycle on the EWB of social housing tenants. The two studies adopt different approaches to implementing EMA via a smartphone. The first uses a smartphone app to collect information on EWB, while the second adopts an instant messaging approach. Despite differences in the EMA approach used and sample characteristics, both studies produce very similar results. Social contact is associated with higher experienced wellbeing, as is travelling when compared to other activities. Both studies also effectively replicate findings from the wider literature on the relationship between the diurnal cycle and experienced happiness. Because the studies both took place in New Zealand in the second half of 2023 and focus on similar target populations, a comparison between them has useful lessons for the impact of the different approaches to EMA on data collection. We find that the instant messaging approach achieved better compliance with the EMA protocol, suggesting that the familiarity of instant messaging may be beneficial for data quality for some respondents. However, the instant messaging approach requires more researcher time per interview and cannot collect GPS information on the respondent’s location, sacrificing a major strength of EMA measures.</jats:p>Copyright (c) 2026 Conal Smith, Matthew Cross, Scott Duncan, Arthur Grimes, Philippa Howden-Chapman, Lydia Le Gros, Amber Logan, Lisa MacKay, Julia McPhee, Kate Murphy, Anantha Narayanan, Guy Penny, Nevil Pierse, Tom Stewart. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.4206 Public Health42 Health SciencesBehavioral and Social ScienceMinority HealthClinical ResearchHealth DisparitiesHealth Disparities and Racial or Ethnic Minority Health Research3 Good Health and Well Being1117 Public Health and Health Services1608 Sociology1701 Psychology4206 Public health5203 Clinical and health psychology5205 Social and personality psychologyJournal ArticleOpenAccess10.5502/ijw.v16i1.4693