Eszter Hargittai, "The Implications of Digital Inequality for Internet Research"

Digital Inequality and its Implications f h

Eszter Hargittai

for Internet ResearchEszter Hargittai

Associate Professor, Communication Studies DepartmentFaculty Associate, Institute for Policy ResearchFaculty Associate Science in Human CultureFaculty Associate, Science in Human CultureAffiliated Faculty, Sociology Department

Northwestern University&

Fellow, Berkman Center for Internet & SocietyHarvard University

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Eszter Hargittai, Northwestern UniversityEszter Hargittai, Northwestern University

www.eszter.com

@eszter

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Context$Overall Framework

Context$

Technical Social

Socio‐EconomicStatus

T fSkill


Types of usesSkill

Context$Productivity

Overall Framework

Context$Job Performance

Creative Output

Productivity

Academic

Technical Social

Socio‐EconomicStatus

General Well‐Being

pAchievement

Political i i i

gParticipation

T f? Skill


Types of uses? Skill

Central Research Question:Who benefits mostWho benefits most

from their digital media uses?Social Mobility vs Social Reproduction

Do digital media reduce or contribute to social inequality?


Mere connectivity Effective, efficient uses

Who benefits most from their digital media uses?

Human capital Financial capital

????Cultural capitalSocial capital


The relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and Internet uses

SES = Info seeking for news,

status (SES) and Internet uses

Based on the following national samples:

SES =finance, health

Germany 2004 (Zillien & Hargittai 2008)Switzerland 1999, 2000 (Bonfadelli 2002)United Kingdom 2001 2002 (Anderson 2008)United Kingdom 2001, 2002 (Anderson 2008)United Kingdom 2003, 2005, 2007 (Eynon 2009)United States 2000‐2004 (Buente & Robbins 2008)United States 2004 (Hargittai & Hinnant 2008)United States 2005 (Hale et al., 2010)

F i H itt i E & H i h Y P (F th i ) Di it l I lit


For review, see: Hargittai, E. & Hsieh, Y.P. (Forthcoming). Digital Inequality. In Oxford Handbook of Internet Studies. Edited by William H. Dutton. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Domains of skill• Awareness and understanding

• Efficient information seeking

• Credibility assessment• Credibility assessment

• Knowledge of privacy, security issues Skill

• Participation – joining communities

ib i– contributing content


Data?


Data: Observations of search and information seeking

100 randomly sampled adultsMercer County NJ 2001‐2002

Observations of search and information seeking

Mercer County, NJ, 2001 2002

Tax formsPolitical infoHealth info

Job searchLocal cultural events

Tax formsGov’t documents

Job search

Hargittai, E. (2002) First MondayHargittai, E. (2003) IT & SocietyH itt i E (2003) S i t O liHargittai, E. (2003) Society OnlineHargittai, E. (2004) First MondayHargittai, E. (2006) Journal of the Association of Information SystemsHargittai, E. (2007) Media Diversity and Localism: Meaning and MetricsHargittai, E. (2008) The Hyperlinked Society


Measures of actual skill; survey instruments

EszterEszter Hargittai, Northwestern UniversityHargittai, Northwestern University

Measuring awareness & understandingMeasuring awareness & understandingHow familiar are you with the following computer and Internet-related items? Please choose a number between 1 and 5 where 1 represents “no a d 5 e e ep ese ts ounderstanding” and 5 represents “full understanding” of the item

For methodological details see:

understanding” of the item.

For methodological details, see:* Hargittai, E. (2005). Survey Measures of Web-Oriented Digital Literacy.

Social Science Computer Review, 23(3):371-379. * Hargittai, E. (2009). An Update on Survey Measures of Web-Oriented Digital

Literacy. Social Science Computer Review. 27(1):130-137.

Eszter Hargittai, Northwestern UniversityEszter Hargittai, Northwestern University http://webuse.org/pubs/

* Hargittai, E. & Hsieh, Y.P. (2012). Succinct Measures of Web-Use Skills. Social Science Computer Review. 30(1):95-107.

For details, see:For details, see:* Hargittai, E. & Hsieh, Y.P. (2012). Succinct Measures of Web-Use Skills.

Social Science Computer Review.* Hargittai, E. (2009). An Update on Survey Measures of Web-Oriented Digital

Literacy. Social Science Computer Review. 27(1):130-137.

Eszter Hargittai, Northwestern UniversityEszter Hargittai, Northwestern University http://webuse.org/pubs/

* Hargittai, E. (2005). Survey Measures of Web-Oriented Digital Literacy. Social Science Computer Review, 23(3):371-379.

Surveys

f iki di


US Map from Wikipedia

Surveys

f iki di


US Map from Wikipedia

Why theUniversity of Illinois Chicago?

Average temperature:Feb: 28.2°F Mar: 39.6°FUniversity of Illinois, Chicago?


Why theUniversity of Illinois Chicago?

Average temperature:Feb: 28.2°F Mar: 39.6°FUniversity of Illinois, Chicago?


• Students enrolled in the oneData & MethodsStudents enrolled in the onerequired course on campus

(First‐Year Writing Program)

• Paper/pencil survey

Wave 2Wave 1 February‐April, 2009 1,115 first‐years

April‐July, 2010 505

80.5% response rate 45% response rateWave 3 (ongoing)July‐August, 2012 504+

( g g)


50%+ response rate

Data & Methods

Wave 3 (ongoing)July‐August, 2012 504+

( g g)


50%+ response rate

Data & Methods

The purpose of this question is to assess your attentiveness to question

Wave 3 (ongoing)

wording. For this question please mark the “Very often” response.Never

July‐August, 2012 504+

( g g)NeverRarely Sometimes


50%+ response rateOftenVery Often

Sample descriptives (2009)99% 18‐19 years old

41% male; 59% female41% male; 59% female

47% neither parent has a college degree

Race & ethnicity:

college degree

White 41%Asian/Asian American 22%Hispanic 24%Black/African American 11%

i di / l k i %


American Indian/Alaskan Native .5%

The Wired Generation(2009)

100% either own or have easy access to a laptop or desktop

98% have access to the Internet at home

95% had access to the Internet at home during 95% had access to the Internet at home during senior year in high school

70% t t d i th I t t l l i iddl 70% started using the Internet regularly in middle school or earlier

O d h h b kl On average, spend 17 hours on the Web weekly (excluding email, chat and VoIP)

87% h k il d il (th j it h k l


87% check email daily (the majority check several times a day)

Basic Internet‐related terms

R 14 65Range: 14‐65Mean: 47St.dev.: 10


34% could not identify the correct description of bcc functionality on a multiple‐choice question (UIC ‘10)multiple‐choice question (UIC 10)


Web 2.0‐related terms

R 14 65Range: 14-65Mean: 47St.dev.: 10

Range: 14‐70Mean: 37St dev : 13St.dev.: 13


Relationship of skill & gender


Relationship of skill & race/ethnicity


Relationship of skill & socioeconomic status

4 104.10

2.73

Low HighS i i t t


Socioeconomic status

How about skill differences nationally?

? 4.10??

2.73

???

Eszter Hargittai, Northwestern UniversityEszter Hargittai, Northwestern UniversityUS Map from Wikipedia

Explaining skill differences nationallyExplaining skill differences nationally(2009)

?Income

SkillEducationAge (=<50)

Data source: Federal Communications


Commission broadband survey

Explaining skill differences nationallyExplaining skill differences nationally(2009)

Income ++ Skill+Education

Age (=<50) x

Data source: Federal Communications


Commission broadband survey

Is adoption of services random?


Use of Facebook vs MySpace by Race/Ethnicity, 2007

Hargittai E (2007) Whose Space? Differences among Users and Non Users of Social


Hargittai, E. (2007) Whose Space? Differences among Users and Non-Users of Social Network Sites. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication. 13(1).276-297. http://webuse.org/p/a21

Use of Facebook vs MySpace by Race/Ethnicity, 2009


Hargittai, E. (2011). Open Doors, Closed Spaces? Differentiated Adoption of Social Network Sites by User Background. In Race After the Internet. Edited by Peter Chow-White and Lisa Nakamura. Routledge.

Data more representative than may first appear


The Wired Generation.. but not in every way

UIC ‘09 = 4% UIC ‘10 = 18%


Who uses Twitter?

Hargittai, E. & Litt, E. (2011). The Tweet Smell of Celebrity Success: Explaining Twitter Adoption among a Diverse Group of Young Adults New


Explaining Twitter Adoption among a Diverse Group of Young Adults. New Media & Society. 13(5):824-842.http://webuse.org/p/a36

Who uses Twitter?(longitudinal data 2009‐2010)

African AmericanAfrican American( g )

Texting often

Internet skill in 2009Web access on cell phone

Interest in entertainment/ celebrity news in 2009

+++.. international news.. local/national news

.. politics


Twitter use in 2010

August, 2011


August, 2010

Is there a participation gap?


Online Engagement (ever)In percentages Men Women

… created a quiz or poll for people to take online 38 38 37… uploaded a video to a video sharing site (such as YouTube) 49 57 44… voted on the quality of content available on sites where users can rate content (such as YouTube or Digg)

49 64 38

… submitted a review about a product or service (on sites such as Amazon or Yelp)

Digg)

34 47 25… changed/added information to a Wikipedia entry

p)

changed the privacy settings of

17 29 8


… changed the privacy settings of your Facebook account 81 77 85



49 64 38


Digg)


p)


17 29 8





49 64 38


Digg)


p)


17 29 8



Online Engagement (ever) – summary

Range: 0‐5Mean: 1 85Mean: 1.85

N ti iti 26 0%No activities 26.0%1 activity 21.1%2 ti iti 18 7%2 activities 18.7%3 activities 17.1%4 ti iti 10 3%4 activities 10.3%5 activities 6.7%


Number of online engagement activities by gender


Number of online engagement activities by race

Range: 0‐5Mean: 1.8St.dev.: 1.6

**** ***

Eszter Hargittai, Northwestern UniversityEszter Hargittai, Northwestern University * p<.05 **p<.01 ***p<.001

Number of online engagement activities by parental educationp

3.023.02

1.07


Number of online engagement activities by skill

Low High


gSkill

The implications of The implications of di i l i lidi i l i lidigital inequality digital inequality

for Internet researchfor Internet researchfor Internet researchfor Internet research


Data?

L d t d f

Log data

A record of actions123.45.67.89 - 25/Mar/2003 10:15:32 -http://www.google.com/search?q=politics -Firefox 1.0.7; Windows NT 5.1 - 740674ce2123e969

Source: http://www.google.com/privacy/faq.html


Data?

L d t Log data

d f

A record of actions123.45.67.89 - 25/Mar/2003 10:15:32 -http://www.google.com/search?q=politics -Firefox 1.0.7; Windows NT 5.1 - 740674ce2123e969

Source: http://www.google.com/privacy/faq.html


Challenges of relying on log data• Becoming user of a service is not a random event

• People understand and use sites/services differentlydifferently

• Site usage is likely only one of many ways in hi h l i ti l b h iwhich people engage in a particular behavior

Hargittai, E & Hsieh, Y. P. (2010). Predictors and Consequences of Differentiated Social Network Site Uses. Information, Communication and Society.13(4):515-536.Puckett, C. & Hargittai, E. (Forthcoming). From Dot-Edu to Dot-Com: Predictors of College Students’ Job and Career Information Seeking. Sociological Focus. Dobransky K & Hargittai E (In Press) Inquiring Minds Acquiring


Dobransky, K. & Hargittai, E. (In Press). Inquiring Minds Acquiring Wellness: Uses of Online and Offline Sources for Health Information. Health Communication.

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Higher SESion

Higher SES

rticipati Higher SES

rticipat Higher SES

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Lower SESical par

Lower SESPo

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Lower SES


TimeTimeSES = socioeconomic status

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Higher SESion

Higher SES


rticipat Higher SES

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Lower SESical par

Lower SESPo

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Polit

Lower SES



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Higher SESion

Higher SES


rticipat Higher SES

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Lower SESical par

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Lower SES



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The challenges of data opportunities


Implications of differentiated uses for research design

• Actions and opinions on a site are not il (i f t l ) t ti fnecessarily (in fact, rarely) representative of a

broader range of Internet users

• Must be cautious when relying on online data sources for generalizable results


Who benefits most from their digital media uses?

Skill


Why is it helpful to focus on skill?Why is it helpful to focus on skill?

$Skill


What are the implications of What are the implications of diff i d ?diff i d ?differentiated uses?differentiated uses?


Possible outcomes

Higher SES

enefits Higher SES

Higher SESHigher SES

nitie

s/B

Lower SESLower SES

Lower SES

pportun

OR? OR?

Op

Time


“SES” = “socioeconomic status”

Possible outcomes

Higher SES

enefits Higher SES

Higher SESHigher SES

nitie

s/B

Lower SESLower SES

Lower SES

pportun

OR? OR?

Op

Time


“SES” = “socioeconomic status”

Take‐aways• Adoption of a service is not a random event

• People’s background relates to what they do online

• The more privileged tend to be more skilled

• The more skilled tend to do more online• The more skilled tend to do more online

• Online voices are not representative of all i iopinions




Thanks to funders:

Robert and Kaye Hiatt Fund for Research on Media Technology and Societyon Media, Technology, and Society

Thanks to students/former students:Thanks to students/former students:


Thank you!

Q ti ?Questions?

www eszter comwww.eszter.com

@eszter

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