I think ESM is the theoretically ideal measure of happiness and thus EA—indeed, everyone—should use it as the outcome measure of impact (I assume wellbeing consists in happiness).
As you laid out in this comment, it looks like experience sampling is not getting strong uptake in academia.
Here’s a short argument:
(a) Experience-sampling is theoretically the best way to measure happiness
I think your short argument misses the point. The obstacle isn’t the lack of such infrastructure—I imagine academics could use the existing tools if they asked politely or created their own—but the lack of demand for such infrastructure.
As you laid out in this comment, it looks like experience sampling is not getting strong uptake in academia.
Here’s a short argument:
(a) Experience-sampling is theoretically the best way to measure happiness
(b) It’s feasible to build experience-sampling infrastructure, e.g. Natália’s mobile app proposal
(c) Academics & other stakeholders aren’t planning to build such infrastructure
Ergo: building experience-sampling infrastructure is a neglected, tractable, and impactful intervention that EA could undertake
I think your short argument misses the point. The obstacle isn’t the lack of such infrastructure—I imagine academics could use the existing tools if they asked politely or created their own—but the lack of demand for such infrastructure.
I’m imagining that EA could provide the demand for such infrastructure (EA cause prioritizers would be its customers).