Drawing the net: internet identification, internet use, and the image of internet users. |
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Authors: | Jeff Gavin Jill Duffield Mark Brosnan Richard Joiner Pam Maras Adrian J Scott |
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Affiliation: | Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK. j.gavin@bath.ac.uk |
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Abstract: | Theory and research suggest that Internet identification may account for some of the gender divide in Internet use. Internet identification is a type of domain identification, and is inherently bound with images of those who use the Internet, a domain traditionally conceived as masculine. Combining the "draw an Internet user" test with an Internet identification scale, this study tests two hypotheses: participants drawing gender-concordant images will (i) identify with and (ii) use the Internet more than those drawing gender-discordant images. Participants were 371 students (121 males, 250 females) from three universities in the United Kingdom and Australia. The need to challenge masculinized images of the Internet is discussed. |
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