Taiwanese Adolescents' Perceptions and Attitudes Regarding the Internet: Exploring Gender Differences

The purpose of this study was to explore adolescents' perceptions and attitudes regarding the Internet, by gender. Data were collected from 636 high school students in Taiwan. It was found that male adolescents perceived the Internet more as a "toy," while female adolescents perceived the Internet more as a "technology," "tool" or "tour." Results indicated that females held more pragmatic views of the Internet, whereas males believed they could obtain more enjoyment from the Internet. In addition, males expressed significantly more positive attitudes than did females on two aspects of the Internet: usefulness and perceived control. However, no significant gender differences were found in terms of the affection and behavior aspects of using the Internet. More importantly, females tended to show higher Internet self-efficacy than did males. It is suggested that gender differences regarding the Internet might be narrowing because female adolescents are acquiring more experience with it.