Information technologies and women.
INTRODUCTIONFemininity and masculinity are the main categories in human relations. Everywhere and in every culture, people categorize the people they encounter as a man or woman. The perceived normal features of masculinity and femininity and how these features affect individuals, their relationships, and society in general change according to time and place (Salzman, Matathia, & O'Reilly, 2006).
The role of man and woman in social life, the field in which they exist, and especially manipulation of the labor force according to social gender is closely related with how this relationship is socially formed. It is a general belief that men and women have different relations with technology. This relationship, which is accepted as universal, begins with the birth of a child and becomes a part of his or her social identity. This relationship that begins in family with socialization continues through educational institutions and is reinforced by mass media. For instance, a girl plays with a doll and a boy plays with a toy car. A girl has a home economics course at school, while a boy has a repair and maintenance course. In ads, while the girl plays with a Barbie, the boy plays in front of a computer. These countless examples reveal that there is a different relationship between social gender and technology. While women are considered to be related to the domestic use of technology, men are believed to be the producer of it (Timisi, 1996).
It is well known that women's opportunities of using recent information technologies are limited compared to men. Besides, if women use these technologies, they use them in order to do jobs that are considered suitable for their feminine roles, such as entering data and typing text. In short, computers are presented as advanced typewriters for women; in this way, the uses of a new technology are restrained. Technologies are not unbiased instruments as they are claimed to be. On the contrary, technologies are the instruments that regenerate the dominant social structure and relations. The woman who is considered not predisposed nor close to technology, female culture, and the feminine information produced in this culture are trivialized by dominant sexist ideology. For example, while the subject of technology history is the contributions of men to the improvement of science and technique, women's relationship with the tools and devices in terms of domestic work process in daily life and the meaning and usage value they ascribe to these devices are neglected as well as their original designs and practice. Their genuine designs about cleaning, saving, hiding and protecting are ignored (Gencel Bek & Binark, 2000). However, the field of information technology is full of opportunities for self-realization and liberty for women. Information technologies also have the potential to be used in favor of women. Thus, detecting by whom and for which purposes these recent technologies, also called new media information and communication technologies or information technologies, are used is important in order to generalize the use of these technologies for women, to detect the usage problems, and to determine whether there is a gender-related difference in use.
SOCIALIZATION AND SOCIAL GENDER
Most human behaviors are learned behaviors. Learning certain things in a certain society happens in a formation called the socialization process. The process of learning humanistic behaviors is called socialization (Ozkalp, 2000).
Socialization is the process of individuals learning the rules, norms, attitudes, and behaviors of society, and acting in line with this learning, and, therefore, gaining a personality and individuality in the society. Socialization begins with the birth of an individual and continues throughout life. Socialization is a learning process. In this process, there is a learner-teacher interaction. The teacher is society and the learner is the individual who goes through the socialization process (Icli, 2002).
Identity shows the individual's characteristics, which separate him or her from other individuals. The questions of who is the individual, what are the characteristics and roles of the individual, and what the individual can do are all related to identity. Identity is the expression of an individual's defining and positioning of himself or herself. In other words, it reflects how individuals define and position themselves in their own social world. It is a response related to who they are and where they stand. Sexual identity is an important part of one's self. A person's defining himself as a woman or a man is the inner personal connotation of femininity and masculinity revealed as personality and behavior. The cultural meanings of sexuality are considered social gender roles. After children are labeled as a girl and a boy, they start to learn and acquire the cultural meanings of sexuality. Social gender role is a group of expectations fulfilled by individuals (Dokmen, 2004).
The concept of social gender is based on the behavior patterns learned in a society and men's and women's social form of self-expression. That is, social gender is a cultural concept. It establishes the distinction between man and woman in terms of roles, behaviors, and mental and emotional features. Social gender is the sum of the differences that are set socially between man and woman and that can change according to time and cultures. The roles and responsibilities of social gender include a tense learning process that takes place in socialization (Giddens, 2000).
A newborn baby has a biological sex. It does not have a social sex yet. While growing up, society puts a series of behavioral patterns and rules appropriate for his gender in front of the child. Certain socialization factors, especially family, media, peer groups, and school, embody these expectations and models and creates environments in which the child can own them. In addition, various learning mechanisms such as conditioning, training, taking someone as a model, and identification intervene in this process (Kaypakoglu, 2004).
We learn most of our behaviors and values from social conditioning and examples. Initially, the examples and models acquired from family and the immediate area form future behaviors and attitudes of individuals. Mostly, the man acquires his shape from the first male model, the father. Similarly, the woman acquires hers from the mother, the first female model. Like it or not, the attitudes of our fathers and mothers have affected our identities and they formed both our sexual roles and our perception of the opposite sex. The conceptual and behavioral expectations of the society from man and woman are quite different. According to the generalized results of research, men display sexual roles complying mostly with success, power, autonomy, aggression, and self-realization, while women display sexual roles of supporting, relationship, help, respect, and sacrifice. It has been detected that men mostly display behaviors about practical and functional subjects (doing a job to finish work, autonomy, and self-protection). On the other hand, women display behaviors about the subjects of expression and relationship (sensitivity to others' needs, supporting, and dependency) (Navaro, 1997).
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES
New media have begun to develop by adoption of improvements in computer and information processing to communication technologies since the 1970s. Therefore, the new media have been called information and communication technologies (Torenli, 2005).
Use of the computer increased markedly in the last decade of the twentieth century. Information technology is a field that emerged as a result of improvements in the computer sector. It includes the technology of computer hardware and software that are used to save, transmit, and process the data. However, today, information technology (IT) is not a field that is limited to configuration of software and installation of systems. With a more contemporary look, information technology has a number of components such as computer hardware, software, networks, communication technologies, workforce trained in the field, procedures, the Internet, Intranets, and communication tools. Information technology is a sector that has existed for 50 years and has the utmost importance today (Bilisim Teknolojileri Alanin Mevcut Durumu ve Gelecegi, 2009).
Information technology comprises all the technologies, including communication and computers, used in gathering, storing, processing, and transmitting information via computers and putting it into service for users. Information technology is used for all of the information services that are connected to communication and computer services. It helps us do all kind of work in every part of our life and saves us from drudgery. That is, it gives us the opportunity to spare the time for ourselves. Information technology is related to all other technologies and, as a result, by being used in many different forms, it offers seemingly unlimited impact and improvement. Information technologies enable us to obtain information, which is the raw material of information society, at any time and any place. In addition to this, it acts as an intermediary in producing new information. With the help of these technologies, society is being reshaped (Bilisim Teknolojileri, 2009).
The actions, which take place in virtual extent, such as corresponding via e-mail, chatting on MSN, searching information on websites, e-shopping, playing digital games online or offline, using ogo mobile messenger, and the iPod, and so on, have been taking hold of the time and the place traditional media occupies in our daily life and have become a natural part of our lives. Information technologies, which are also called the new media, are used and exist in all part of life such as communication between people, commerce, politics, health, career, and games (Binark, 2007).
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES AND WOMEN
New information technologies were neither developed by women not they have been used in favor of women. Women's uses of new information technologies are mostly at the level of passive use and consumption. When producing a new appliance, an ideal user is decided. The identity of this ideal user is important. The ideal users of the appliances that are considered to be highly prestigious to use are thought to be men. Using these appliances is believed to be in men's interest and skill area, especially in terms of new information technologies. Therefore, the existing inequalities between man and woman are reinforced in the use of new information appliances. A great deal of research related to the use of information technologies by men and women suggests that these technologies maintain the sexism and power relations between men and women in daily life. Women cannot become free from the dominant sexist regime because of the problems they encounter in obtaining the technology, because they are technology illiterate and because of the dominant reflection of patriarchal culture in information technologies (Binark & Gencel Bek, 2007).
Girls and boys are directed in a different way from the beginning of their lives. Family, school, and almost all of the social mechanisms in which girls take place, trivialize women's experience and produce and design practices of technology by repeating that women are not "close" and "predisposed" to technology and they are "away from it" in many ways. Generally speaking, women represent "predisposed to the nature" and "emotional," and men represent "mind" and "technical-scientific." This categorization is a result of regeneration of patriarchal social gender ideology in every part of society. With the development and spread of information technologies, the ethnic, class, regional, and gender inequalities in obtaining and using these technologies have created the rich and the poor (Goker, 2009).
The socialization formed by new technologies is not unbiased in terms of gender. Females get little support to internalize these new technologies. There are very few female models and experts related to these new technologies. Economic- and time-related limitations cause women to not connect with these technologies. The expenses of purchasing and operating these technologies become a greater burden for women's income compared to men's. Further women have many responsibilities at home and in family that limit their available time. Women rarely have a personal computer of their own. They share them with husbands or fathers. The internalization and use of information technologies are limited for women in terms of place and time (Birke & Henry, 1997; Dorer, 2006).
The aim of the study "Information Technologies and Women" is to detect the position of women in possessing information technologies, which have a patriarchal structure, how they reach these technologies, usage rates, frequency and aim, the personal gains of women as a result of using these technologies and the difference in these gains between men and women. In order to fulfill this aim, the subjects of socialization, social gender, information technologies, and women were dealt with. The relationship of women with information technologies and the differences in these relationships compared to men were examined and the findings were analyzed.
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
In the study "Information Technologies and Women," in which the relationship between women and information technologies are questioned, the subject group was composed of 1,100 people, 550 women and 550 men between the ages of 16 and 64 living in Eskisehir. The subjects completed a questionnaire of 25 questions by interview method and the following results have been acquired. The questionnaire was prepared based upon the questions in the survey "2008 Information Technologies Use of Residents" conducted by Turkey Statistics Institute. The sample was selected homogeneously among the people using computers and the Internet at home, at work, or in Internet cafes who are at least high or junior high school graduates and between the ages of 16 and 64. The data were analyzed by using cross and frequency charts. The data were evaluated under the main titles of: the profiles of the people who took the questionnaire (IT possession status, duration of IT use, frequency of use and access type), purpose of the Internet and computer use, the websites they enter, users' relationship with IT, and personal gains after IT use. Under these titles, the sexual differences were analyzed and some suggestions that can be in favor of women are opened to discussion in line with the results.
As indicated in Table 1, 40.9% of the people who were randomly picked as sampling and took the questionnaire are between the ages of 25-34, 20% of them are between 45-54, 17.3% of them are between 16-24 and 35-44, and 4.5% of them are between the ages of 55-64. The rate of the university or college graduates is 73.6%, and 26.4% of them are graduates of high school or equivalent. Nearly 61% (60.9%) of the people are married and the remaining 39.1% were single. The overwhelming majority (84.5%) were employed, while the remaining 15.5% were unemployed.
Regarding ownership of information technologies, all of the women and men who took the questionnaire have cell phones. DVD-VCD players are owned in nearly equal numbers by women (81%) and men (80%). Nearly three quarters (74%) of the women and 69% of the men own a digital camera. Seventy percent of the women own desktop computer, compared to 80% of men. Similarly, 34% of women own a laptop computer, as compared to 47% of men. Differences in game console ownership were more dramatic: 0.7% of woment and 16% of men.
When the question of "who bought your personal computer?" was asked, 32.7% women responded "I bought it myself," compared to 61.8% of men; 30.9% of the women responded "My spouse or partner bought it," compared to 7.3% for men. The responses for the question "Where do you use your computer most?" were "at work" (54.5% for women and 50.9% for men), "at home" (45.5% for women and 49.1% for men), and "at the Internet cafe" (12.7% for men and 1.8% for women). The responses for the question "Where do you use the Internet most?" were "at home" (50.9% for women and 66% for men), "at work" (43.6% for women and 34% for men), and "at the Internet cafe" (13.2% for men and 3.6% for women).
The responses for the question "How long have you been using your computer?" were "for more than one year" (96.4% for women and 94.5% for men), "every day" (87.3% for women and 90.9% for men), and "once a week" (9.1% for both women and men). Just over half (50.9 %) of women stated that they learned their computer skills by trial error, while slightly more than two thirds (67.3%) of men responded similarly. Twenty percent of women responded that they learned computer skills in an official course, while about half as many men (10.9%) responded similarly. The rate of the people who learned their computer skills at an adult learning center was 14.5% for women and 9.1% for men. Lastly, the percentage of the women who have received help from a friend or a relative while learning her computer skills is 12.7%, and that of men is 10.9%.
As indicated in Table 2, among the people who took the questionnaire, women defined their purpose of using computer as communication (MSN, e-mail, chat) with the rate of 78.2%, as a part of their job with the rate of 72.2%, doing research with a rate of 71%, surfing on the Internet with the rate of 63.7%, and typing with the rate of 47.3%. Men defined their purpose of using computer as surfing on the net with a rate of 79.9%, communication (MSN, e-mail, chat) with a rate of 76.3%, as a part of their job with a rate of 61.7%, playing games with the rate of 54.4%, and doing research with 50.9%.
As indicated in Table 3, for the statements of "I don't share my computer" and "I cannot take my turn to use computer because of the others at home," which render the use status of the people who took the questionnaire, women and men said "yes" at the same rate. However, for the statement of "I don't have time to use computer at home," they said "yes" with a rate of 17.3% for women and 11.3% for men. As for the possessing the computer at home, they said that the computer belongs to them with rate of 36.5% for women and 66% for men. They said "yes" for the statement of "I cannot use the computer at home comfortably as it doesn't belong to me" with a rate of 11.5% for women and 1.9% for men, and for "Using computer is a waste of time" with a rate of 17.3% for women and 22.6% for men, and for "I don't like to use computer at home" with a rate of 19.2% for women and 26.4% for men, and finally for "The computer has an important place at home" with a rate of 57.7% for women and 62.3% for men.
As indicated in Table 4, the top four purposes of men and women for using the Internet are reading newspapers and magazines, sending-receiving e-mail, using the Internet as a source of information, and instant messaging. There is little difference between men and women in the top four purposes of using the Internet. While the fifth rank for women was to research health issues, for men it was downloading and listening to music. Playing games online with other players is in the 11th rank for men with a rate of 10.8%, while it is not one of the purposes of using the Internet for women.
As indicated in Table 5, when the people who took the questionnaire were asked what websites they entered, the top five answers of the women were 60% search engines (60%), educational sites (54.5%), mass media (52.7%), health sites (50.9%), and e-mail sites (38.2%). On the other hand, the top five answers of the men were search engines (63.6%), mass media (60%), sports sites (52.7%), e-mail sites (39.9%), and sites containing technical information (38.2%). When asked about the goods and services that they ordered or bought via the Internet, the top two answers of women were book-magazine and educational material, and reservations for holidays or trips; the third rank belongs to health-beauty and personal care products, with a rate of 18.2%. On the other hand, the top three answers of men were electronic tools, with 34.6%, additional hardware for computers and video games, with a rate of 32.7%, and household goods with 27.4%. Nearly half (47.3%) of the women and somewhat fewer (45.5%) of the men noted that they do not use the Internet for online shopping. For the question "For what purpose do you use the Internet while communicating with the governmental offices and institutions?", the rate of "to get information from their websites" was 65.5% for women and 54.5% for men. The second was "to fill out and send a form," with a rate of 40% for women and 27.3% for men. The rate of the women's response "I do not use the Internet while communicating with government offices and institutions" is 29.1%, while the rate of men's is 40%.
As indicated in Table 6, when the relationship between the participants and IT was questioned, they said "yes" for the statement "information technologies hold an important part in my life" with a rate of 76.4% for women and 85.5% for men. For the statement "I do not like IT products but I need to use them," the response was "yes" with a rate 40% for women and 18.2% for men. In addition, the response was "yes" for the statement "I feel myself distant from information technologies," with a rate of 25.5% for women and 9.1% for men. The rate of the "yes" response for the statement "I hesitate to use IT products" was 21.8% for women and 7.3% for men. For the statement "My IT usage is limited because I do not know enough," the response was "yes" with a rate 40% for women and 23.6% for men. The rate of the "yes" response for the statement "I do not hesitate to examine IT products and I seize all of its opportunities" was 56.4% for women and 80% for men. Moreover, the response was "yes" for the statement "I follow new information technologies closely" with a rate of 38.2% for women and 61.8% for men. And finally, for the statement "I always buy new IT products," the response was "yes" with a rate 34.5% for women and 49.1% for men.
As indicated in Table 7, when the personal gains of the people were questioned, they said "yes" for the statement "It made my life easier," with a rate of 89.1% for women and 85.5% for men. For the statement "It saved time," the response was "yes" with a rate of 87.3% for women and 85.5%% for men. In addition, the response was "yes" for the statement "It enabled me to have a job and profession," with a rate of 20% for both women and men. The rate of the "yes" response for the statement "It was a good free time activity" was 83.6% for women and 78.2% for men. For the statement "It eased my access to information," the response was "yes" with a rate 89.1% for women and 85.5% for men. The rate of the "yes" response for the statement "It enabled me to communicate" was 65.5% for women and 49.1% for men. Moreover, the response was "yes" for the statement "It had contributions to my education," with a rate of 61.8% for women and 60% for men. For the statement "It enhanced my vocational knowledge," the response was "yes" with a rate 76.4% for women and 63.6% for men. In addition, the response was "yes" for the statement "It made my housework easier," with a rate of 29.1% for women and 14.5% for men. For the statement "It helped me find a partner and friends," the response was "yes" with a rate of 12.7% for women and 20% for men. Moreover, the response was "yes" for the statement "It improved my communication and language skills," with a rate of 41.8% for women and 54.5% for men. And finally, for the statement "It helped me know different cultures," the response was "yes" with a rate 50.9% for women and 60% for men.
CONCLUSION
In the study "Information Technologies and Women," in which the relationship between women and information technologies was examined, the subject group was composed of 1,100 people, 550 women and 550 men between the ages of 16-64 living in Eskisehir, Turkey. They responded to a questionnaire of 25 questions by interview method.
All of the participants who took the questionnaire had cell phones. Many also possess DVD-VCD players, digital cameras, desktop computers and laptop computers. There is no significant difference between men's and women's possession of IT products.
Nearly one third (32.7%) of the women and 61.8% of the men who took the questionnaire and have a personal computer at home stated that they bought their computer by themselves. However 30.9% of the women and 7.3% of the men noted that their spouses or partners bought their computer. The people in the subject group told that their primary use of computer is at work, then secondly at home, but they also stated that they use the Internet mostly at home and secondly at work. The people have been active users of the Internet and computer for more than a year and the frequency of use is "every day" for 87.3% of the women and 90.9% of the men. A majority of the participants have specified that they learned how to use the Internet and computer by themselves through trial and error. No gender difference was observed about the purchase of the computer except that one out of three women noted that their spouses or partners bought the computer.
Women's computer use tended to be for communication (MSN, e-mail, chat), work purposes, research, surfing on the Net, and typing, while men used computers mostly for surfing on the Internet, communication (MSN, e-mail, chat), work purposes, playing computer games, and research. If compared to earlier studies, these results indicate that women are getting used to information technologies and women have started to use technology for work or educational purposes in accordance with their education level. The results also show that they are closing the gap in using IT, and it is a positive result in terms of women.
Women and men have equally responded "Yes" to the statements "I do not share my computer" and "I cannot take my turn to use the computer because of others" to explain participants' computer use status. Women stated that they do not have time to use a computer and that they cannot use a computer comfortably because it does not belong to them with a higher rate compared to men. These results show that although women take roles in work life, they still keep their traditional roles at home and they allocate less time for their privacy.
The rate of men who own a computer at home is twice as high as the rate of women who own a computer at home. Even if not everyone has a personal computer, men and women participants all noted that information technologies have a very important part in their lives and that they need to use information technologies by responding as "yes" with a rate above 50% to the statement "computer holds an important place at home." In addition, they responded "yes" with a lower rate to the statements "I do not like using computer at home" and "I feel sorry for the time I spent on the computer."
When the purposes of women and men to use the Internet are taken into consideration, it can be seen that among most responses are reading an online newspaper or magazine, sending-reading e-mail, finding information, and instant messaging. There is not a major difference between men and women in terms of these primary purposes. However, according to women, the other purpose of use can be researching educational and health issues while men listed downloading music and video chat on the Internet as their other uses. Playing multiplayer games online is not a purpose of use for women, but it has a rate of 10.8% for men among their purposes of Internet use. These data denote that women who attend institutional and work life use the Internet for nearly the same purposes as men and that women have improved themselves. The data also indicates that women have shown positive improvement in using information technologies.
The top five websites that women visit are search engines, educational sites, online media, sites about health issues, and e-mail sites. Men, on the other hand, visit mostly search engines, online media, sports, e-mail and sites on technical information, respectively. When asked about the goods and services that they ordered or bought via the Internet, the top three answers of women were book-magazine and educational material, reservations for holidays or trips; and health-beauty and personal care products. On the other hand, the top three answers of men were electronic tools, additional hardware for computers and video games and household goods. No significant difference was noted between men and women in terms of the websites they entered, except that women entered educational and health sites and men entered sports sites and websites that include technical information. These data indicate that Internet technology maintains and continues the sexism in daily life and the discrimination between men and women as it was revealed in a great deal of previous research on Internet use of men and women (Guzel, 2007). Further, men preferred to buy electronic gadgets, additional computer hardware and video games, while women preferred books-magazines and educational materials, online reservations for holidays, health-beauty and personal care products via the Internet.
Considering the relationship between information technologies and the people who took the questionnaire, women stated that information technologies hold an important part in their lives. However, they also state that they do not like IT products but they need to use them, that they feel themselves distant from IT, that they hesitate to use IT products, and their use is limited as they do not know enough. These data suggest that women's technology phobia continues. That women responded "yes" and men "no" to the statements "I do not hesitate to examine IT products and I seize all of its opportunities" and "I follow new information technologies closely and buy new IT products" also supports this idea.
When the personal gains of the people were questioned, no gender difference was noted on the statements "it made my life easier," "it saved time," "it enabled me to have a job and a profession," "It eased my access to information," and "It had contributions to my education." However, women said "yes" with a higher rate compared to men for the statements "It was a good free time activity," "It enabled me to communicate," "It enhanced my vocational knowledge," and "It made my housework easier." On the other hand, men responded "yes" at a higher rate for the statements "It enabled me to find a partner and friends," "It improved my communication and language skills," and "It helped me know different cultures." These results points out that women use information technologies, but they cannot get rid of their traditional roles while using them.
When the general findings of the study were evaluated, no obvious difference between men and women was recognized in terms of their age, education level, occupation, and marital status. However, it was observed that the use of information technologies increases in accordance with higher education levels and work status of both men and women. In conclusion, it was detected that women value information technologies as an important part of their lives, use them, and gradually are catching up with men on IT use, but they still feel hesitation and fear when using information technologies.
In this case, what women should do is to discover the opportunities that technologies offer in a way that goes beyond the sexist limitations and to use technologies to their advantage. In order to achieve this goal, the following steps should be taken:
Women's self-esteem when using the new communication technologies such as computer and computer networks should be reinforced and promoted.
* Women's prejudice that "new information technologies are only for men" should be broken.
* Some educational programs that have the principle of "teaching by doing and using" should be established and practiced for the purpose of increasing women's computer literacy.
* The differences in using new information technologies between men and women should be highlighted.
* The preferences of women related to communication types and tools should be revealed (Binark & Gencel Bek, 2007).
Women's use of information technology is beneficial for strengthening themselves. Women can take greater advantage of the opportunities of information technologies as they achieve a higher level of education, participate in work and public life more, as they shed their traditional roles, and gain self-confidence. They can make up for their differences from men in social life by improving themselves.
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Emine Demiray, Open Education Faculty, Anadolu University Yunusemre Campus, 26470 Eskisehir, Turkey. Telephone: +90 222 335 0581, ext. 2336. E-mail: edemiray@anadolu.edu.tr Web: http://home.anadolu.edu.tr/~edemiray
Table 1. Profiles of the Respondents
Profiles Criteria Women Men Total
16-24 70 120 190
12.7% 21.8% 17.3%
25-34 220 230 450
40% 41.8% 40.9%
35-44 110 80 190
20% 14.5% 17.3%
45-54 140 80 220
25.5% 14.5% 20%
55-64 10 40 50
1.8% 7.3% 4.5%
Total 550 550 1,100
100% 100% 100%
Education Level High school 80 210 290
13.5% 38.2% 26.4%
College-University 470 340 810
and above 85.5% 61.8% 73.6%
Total 550 550 1,100
100% 100% 100%
Marital status Married 370 300 670
67.3% 54.5% 60.9%
Single 180 250 430
32.7% 45.5% 39.1%
Total 550 550 1,100
100% 100% 100%
Work status Yes 460 470 930
83.6% 85.5% 84.5%
No 90 80 170
16.4% 14.5% 15.5%
Total 550 550 1,100
100% 100% 100%
Table 2. Purpose of Computer Use
Purpose Women
Communication 430
(MSN, e-mail, chat) 78.2%
As a part of your job 400
72.7%
Research 390
71%
Internet (surfing) 350
63.7%
Typing 260
47.3%
Playing games 200
36.4%
Listening to music 150
31%
Watching movies 140
23.7%
Purpose Men
Internet (surfing) 440
79.9%
Communication 420
(MSN, e-mail, chat) 76.3%
Work 340
61.7%
Playing games 300
54.4%
Research 280
50.9%
Listening to music 210
38.3%
Watching movies 160
29.1%
Typing 90
16.4%
Note: * The sum of the columns is not equal to 100% as more
than one item can be checked.
Table 3. Use Status of Respondents
Women
Use Status Yes No
I do not share my computer 110 410
21.2% 78.8%
I cannot take my turn to use the computer 40 480
because of the others at home 7.7% 92.3%
I don't have time to use computer at home 90 430
17.3% 82.7%
The computer at home belongs to me 190 330
36.5% 63.5%
I cannot use the computer at home comfortably 60 460
as it doesn't belong to me 11.5% 88.5%
Using computer is a waste of time 90 430
17.3% 82.7%
I don't like to use computer at home 100 420
19.2% 80.8%
The computer has an important pace at home 300 220
57.7% 42.3%
Men
Use Status Yes No
I do not share my computer 110 420
20.8% 79.2%
I cannot take my turn to use the computer 40 490
because of the others at home 7.5% 92.5%
I don't have time to use computer at home 60 470
11.3% 88.7%
The computer at home belongs to me 350 180
66% 34%
I cannot use the computer at home comfortably 10 520
as it doesn't belong to me 1.9% 98.1%
Using computer is a waste of time 120 410
22.6% 77.4%
I don't like to use computer at home 140 390
26.4% 73.6%
The computer has an important pace at home 330 200
62.3% 37.7%
* 30 women and 20 men have computer at home.
* The sum of the columns is not equal to 100% as more
than one item can be checked.
Table 4. Purposes of Using the Internet
Purposes of Using the Internet Women
Reading online newspapers and 400
magazines, downloading news 72.8%
Receiving-sending e-mail 390
70.9%
Using the Internet as a source of 300
information 54.5%
Instant messaging (MSN, Chat) 250
45.4%
Researching on health issues 230
41.8%
Video chat via the Internet 150
27.3%
Downloading and listening to music 140
25.4%
Finding information about goods and 100
services 18.2%
Searching for information about 100
educational activities 18.2%
Using travel and accommodation services 80
14.6%
Online banking 80
14.6%
Watching and downloading movie, short 60
movie and video files (except for web TV) 10.9%
Looking for and applying to jobs 40
7.2%
Other information searching and online 40
services 7.2%
Sharing the text or video that you have 40
created yourself with a website 7.2%
Downloading software 20
3.6%
Making online phone calls 20
3.6%
Downloading and updating computer and 20
video games 3.6%
Listening to web radio and watching web 20
TV 3.6%
Playing games online with other players 0
0%
Purposes of Using the Internet Men
Reading online newspapers and 390
magazines, downloading news 70.8%
Receiving-sending e-mail 370
67.2%
Using the Internet as a source of 220
information 40%
Instant messaging (MSN, Chat) 210
38.1%
Downloading and listening to music 180
32.8%
Video chat via the Internet 170
31%
Finding information about goods and 150
services 27.3%
Online banking 130
23.6%
Researching on health issues 100
18.2%
Downloading and updating computer and 80
video games 14.6%
Playing games online with other players 60
10.8%
Using travel and accommodation services 60
10.8%
Sharing the text or video that you have 50
created yourself with a website 9%
Searching for information about 50
educational activities 9%
Watching and downloading movie, short 30
movie and video files (except for web TV) 5.4%
Looking for and applying to jobs 30
5.4%
Listening to web radio and watching web 30
TV 5.4%
Other information searching and online 30
services 5.4%
Downloading software 20
3.6%
Making online phone calls 10
1.8%
* The sum of the columns is not equal to 100% as more than one
item can be checked.
Table 5. Web Sites Entered by Respondents
The Web Sites Women
Search engines 330
60%
Educational sites 300
54.5%
Mass media sites 290
52.7%
Health sites 280
50.9%
E-mail sites 210
38.2%
Banking sites 180
32.8%
Sites about culture-art 170
30.9%
Game-entertainment sites 120
21.8%
Shopping sites 80
14.5%
Children sites 70
12.7%
Law sites 70
12.7%
Sites containing technical 40
information 7.3%
Sites about Turkey 40
7.3%
Sports sites 30
5.5%
Asking about dept 20
3.6%
Sites about other countries 10
1.8%
Financial sites 0
0%
The Websites Men
Search engines 350
63.6%
Mass media sites 330
60%
Sports sites 290
52.7%
E-mail sites 220
39.9%
Sites containing technical 210
information 38.2%
Game-entertainment sites 190
34.5%
Educational sites 150
27.3%
Banking sites 150
27.3%
Sites about culture-art 110
20%
Shopping sites 100
18.2%
Financial sites 60
10.9%
Asking about dept 50
9.1%
Health sites 50
9.1%
Sites about Turkey 30
5.5%
Law sites 30
5.5%
Children sites 20
3.6%
Sites about other countries 10
1.8%
* The sum of the columns is not equal to 100% as more than one
item can be checked.
Table 6. Relationship Between Respondents and Information
Technologies
Women Men
Relationship With
Information Technologies Yes No Yes No
Information technologies hold 420 130 470 80
an important place in my life 76.4% 23.6% 85.5% 14.5%
I do not like IT products but I 220 330 100 450
need to use them 40% 60% 18.2% 81.8%
I feel myself distant from 140 410 50 500
information technologies 25.5% 74.5% 9.1% 90.9%
I hesitate to use IT products 120 430 40 510
21.8% 78.2% 7.3% 92.7%
My IT usage is limited because 220 330 130 420
I do not know enough 40% 60% 23.6% 76.4%
I do not hesitate to examine IT 310 240 440 110
products and I seize all of its 56.4% 43.6% 80% 20%
opportunities
I follow new information 210 340 340 210
technologies closely 38.2% 61.8% 61.8% 38.2%
I always buy new IT products 190 360 270 280
34.5% 65.5% 49.1% 50.9%
* The sum of the columns is not equal to 100% as more than one
item can be checked.
Table 7. Personal Gains of Respondents After Using
Computer and Internet
Women Men
Personal Gains Yes No Yes No
It made my life easier 490 60 470 80
89.1% 10.9% 85.5% 14.5%
It saved time 480 70 470 80
87.3% 12.7% 85.5% 14.5%
It enabled me to have a job 110 440 110 440
and profession 20% 80% 20% 80%
It was a good free time 460 90 430 120
activity 83.6% 16.4% 78.2% 21.8%
It eased my access to 490 60 470 80
information 89.1% 10.9% 85.5% 14.5%
It enabled me to 360 190 270 280
communicate 65.5% 34.5% 49.1% 50.9%
It had contributions to my 340 210 330 220
education 61.8% 38.2% 60% 40%
It enhanced my vocational 420 130 350 200
knowledge 76.4% 23.6% 63.6% 36.4%
It made my housework 160 390 80 470
easier 29.1% 70.9% 14.5% 85.5%
It helped me find a 70 480 110 440
partner and friends 12.7% 87.3% 20% 80%
It improved my 230 320 300 250
communication and 41.8% 58.2% 54.5% 45.5%
language skills
It helped me know 280 270 330 220
different cultures. 50.9% 49.1% 60% 40%
* The sum of the columns is not equal to 100% as more than
one item can be checked.
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| |
| Title Annotation: | SPOTLIGHT ARTICLE |
|---|---|
| Author: | Demiray, Emine |
| Publication: | Distance Learning |
| Geographic Code: | 1USA |
| Date: | Jan 1, 2010 |
| Words: | 7502 |
| Next Article: | Global perspectives in open and distance learning and open learning resources. |
| Topics: | |