Gender and IT in the Household: Evolving Patterns of Internet Use in the United States

Information technology (IT)—computers and related technologies—is the latest technology to enter the household. Like other technologies, gender is a major factor in its adoption and use as well as its perceived usefulness. Unlike prior household technologies, the computer's entry into the household has followed a different pattern. Early statistics revealed a vast gender divide, with men using computers and related technologies much more in the household. More recent statistics show a narrowing of the divide, perhaps even a reversal, particularly in the United States, with women outnumbering men in the access to and use of the Internet. In this article, the role of gender and its relationship with Internet use in the home are reviewed. In addition to overall adoption and access, the review focuses on specific Internet applications and examines the factors that contribute to gender differences in adoption and use of computers and Internet applications in the home.

[1]  Richard A. Berk,et al.  Labor and leisure at home : content and organization of the household day , 1981 .

[2]  S. B. Linder,et al.  The Harried Leisure Class , 1970 .

[3]  Nikhilesh Dholakia,et al.  The making of the consumer , 2003 .

[4]  Nir Kshetri,et al.  GENDER AND INTERNET USAGE , 2004 .

[5]  S. Blair,et al.  Children's participation in household labor: Child socialization versus the need for household labor , 1992, Journal of youth and adolescence.

[6]  Ruth Schwartz Cowan,et al.  More Work for Mother: The Ironies of Household Technology from the Open Hearth to the Microwave , 1985 .

[7]  John A. Hoxmeier,et al.  The Impact of Gender and Experience on User Confidence in Electronic Mail , 2000, J. Organ. End User Comput..

[8]  Donna J. Abernathy.  Thinking outside the evaluation box , 1999 .

[9]  Philip N. Cohen,et al.  Premarital Cohabitation and Housework: Couples in Cross‐National Perspective , 2002 .

[10]  Juliet B. Schor,et al.  The Overworked American: The Unexpected Decline Of Leisure , 1991 .

[11]  Donna J. Abernathy.  Second and Fourth Rocks From the Sun , 1999 .

[12]  N. Hafkin,et al.  Gender information technology and developing countries: an analytic study. Executive summary. , 2001 .

[13]  Fred D. Davis.  Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Ease of Use, and User Acceptance of Information Technology , 1989, MIS Q..

[14]  Susan C. Herring,et al.  The Rhetorical Dynamics of Gender Harassment On-Line , 1999, Inf. Soc..

[15]  T. S. Robertson,et al.  A Propositional Inventory for New Diffusion Research , 1985 .

[16]  R. Dholakia.  Going shopping: key determinants of shopping behaviors and motivations , 1999 .

[17]  S. Turkle.  Computational reticence: why women fear the intimate machine , 2004 .

[18]  Micaela di Leonardo,et al.  Mothers and Such: Views of American Women and Why They Changed. , 1984 .

[19]  Gregory E. Truman,et al.  Gender Differences in the Information Systems Managerial Ranks: An Assessment of Potential Discriminatory Practices , 1994, MIS Q..

[20]  E. Hargittai,et al.  An Evolving Gender Digital Divide? , 2004 .

[21]  M. Marini,et al.  Measuring Household Work: Recent Experience in the United States , 1993 .

[22]  Alladi Venkatesh.  New Visions of Information Technology and Postmodernism: Implications for Advertising and Marketing Communications , 1996 .

[23]  Alladi Venkatesh,et al.  A Longitudinal Analysis of Computing in the Home , 2000, HOIT.

[24]  S. Arnold,et al.  More than a Labor of Love: Gender Roles and Christmas Gift Shopping , 1990 .

[25]  Beth Anne Shelton,et al.  The Division of Household Labor. , 1996 .

[26]  Nikhilesh Dholakia,et al.  From social psychology to political economy: A model of energy use behavior☆ , 1983 .

[27]  A. Warde,et al.  English Households and Routine Food Practices: A Research Note , 1994 .

[28]  S. Blair,et al.  The Sex-Typing of Children's Household Labor , 1992 .