Eszter Hargittai, Northwestern UniversityEszter Hargittai, Northwestern University

http://www.eszter.com

Eszter HargittaiDepartment of Communication Studies

Northwestern University

Users – A Reality Check

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Internet skills

Knowledge of “netiquette”

Knowledge of how to contribute

Knowledge about online tools

Knowledge about what is available online

Ability to find content efficiently

Ability to assess source and message credibility

Understanding privacy and security issues

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Differences in skill

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Differences in skill

• 43% failed on political task

survey measures of skill

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Paper-and-pencil survey

Differences in skill among young people

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Basic Internet-related terms

Range: 15-65Mean: 46St.dev.: 11

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Web 2.0-related terms

Range: 13-70Mean: 35St.dev.: 13

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Skill and user background

Asian American [basic skill]

More autonomy (# of access locations)

More experience (# of use years, weekly Web hours)

Higher levels of self-reported know-how:

Lower levels of self-reported know-how:Women

Hispanic origin

African American

Have parents with lower levels of education [especially

advanced skill]

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Use of specific Web sites (sometimes or often)

0

93% (79%)

8% (4%)

47% (54%)

1%

85% (75%)

93% (83%)

10% (7%) 36% (15%)

0 (<1%)4% (4%)

0

2008 (2007)

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What explains variation in creative output and sharing?

Is there a participation gap?

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Online Sharing by Gender(among creators)

333935Artistic photo15

4942

Women

40

5455

Men

29

5150

Among those who

create

Poetry/fiction

Music***

Video**

** p=<.01 ***p=<.001

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Explaining differences in sharing(controlling for content creation)

Lower levels of online sharing:

Women

Higher levels of online sharing:

Skill (both basic and Web 2.0 terms)

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Cell phone usage

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Cell phone usage

EverDaily

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Concluding remarks

• People differ considerably in their level of familiarity with various online services

• Online know-how is not randomly distributed among the population, user background is related to digital media savvy

• Skill differences are related to differentiated

Web use suggesting different online activities (and therefore opportunities) based on user background

Eszter Hargittai, Northwestern UniversityEszter Hargittai, Northwestern University

http://www.webuse.org

Eszter Hargittai, Northwestern UniversityEszter Hargittai, Northwestern University