Women use text messaging and social media more than men, according to a study conducted by a UA student.
Amanda Kimbrough, a senior majoring in psychology, polled 381 undergraduate students last spring through an online survey that assessed gender differences in technology preferences and frequency of use.
Kimbrough’s study was inspired by other research she conducted as a sophomore, which produced results that addressed a new outlook on the use of technology.
“As a sophomore, I found that a lot of people saw social media as a responsibility and obligation,” said Kimbrough. “They would say ‘I have to check my Facebook tonight,’ as opposed to it being an elective.”
As a junior, Kimbrough conducted the 26-question survey that concentrated on both offline technology, such as telephone calls and text messaging, as well as online technology, including social networking, video calls, email and instant messaging.
The subject pool, composed of Psychology 101 students and volunteers from Facebook, included 267 women and 114 men. However, Kimbrough did not realize the importance of gender within her study as she was conducting it.
“It’s not uncommon that a majority of Psychology 101 students are women,” she said. “I was originally looking at the use of technology, though, so I didn’t go in with too many ideas. Gender was on my radar, but I never thought it would be so significant.”
However, Kimbrough’s survey found that women largely preferred and used text message and social media technology more than their male counterparts.
“Most people think the gender difference in technology is going away, but this study suggests that that’s not the case,” said Nicole Muscanell, a graduate student in the UA psychology department. “Women use communication to keep up their relationships, and technology helps them keep up with these relationships in a more efficient way.”
Kimbrough said she believes social networking is trying to become the infrastructure of Internet usage. She sees her study revealing that women are becoming the dominant users of technology, opposing a study conducted in 2000 that found that 95 percent of Internet users were men.
“This is the first study to show women using technology more than men,” said Dr. Rosanna Guadagno, a professor of social psychology at UA and Kimbrough’s faculty adviser. “Men used a phone to conduct business, and then women used it to communicate relationships. Men developed the technology, and women used it for unique purposes. Then, it booms. It happened to Facebook, as well.”
Guadagno believes the increased use of technology has been a positive and negative influence on society.
“In some aspects, technology separates us, and in some aspects, it connects us,” she said. “It is both a connector and divider of social interaction. Instead of picking up the phone to talk to someone, people will email, text or send a message via Facebook. People use technology rather than communicate through a phone or face-to-face.”
However, Guadagno sees this transformation in technology as empowering to women.
“More and more businesses and movies advertise with Facebook accounts rather than web pages,” she said. “They are attempting to appeal and market to a female audience because women make many decisions in romantic relationships about a couple’s plans. Social media has been a welcomed surprise for leveling the playing field for women online.”
