Race, Gender, and Information Technology Use: The New Digital Divide

TLDR

The study examined how race and gender affect the intensity and type of IT use and whether such use predicts academic performance. The study surveyed 515 twelve‑year‑old children (172 African American, 343 Caucasian) from the Children and Technology Project. Results showed significant race and gender differences in IT use intensity: African American males were the least intense computer and Internet users, African American females the most intense Internet users, males the most intense videogame players, and females the most intense cell phone users, and longer computer and Internet use positively predicted academic performance while videogame time negatively predicted it.

Abstract

This research examined race and gender differences in the intensity and nature of IT use and whether IT use predicted academic performance. A sample of 515 children (172 African Americans and 343 Caucasian Americans), average age 12 years old, completed surveys as part of their participation in the Children and Technology Project. Findings indicated race and gender differences in the intensity of IT use; African American males were the least intense users of computers and the Internet, and African American females were the most intense users of the Internet. Males, regardless of race, were the most intense videogame players, and females, regardless of race, were the most intense cell phone users. IT use predicted children's academic performance. Length of time using computers and the Internet was a positive predictor of academic performance, whereas amount of time spent playing videogames was a negative predictor. Implications of the findings for bringing IT to African American males and bringing African American males to IT are discussed.