Are female users equally active? An empirical study of the gender imbalance in Korean online news commenting

Abstract

Because online news is pervasive and online comments provide space for people to express their opinions and participate in open discussions, they affect public opinion. However, at least in Korea, male users seem not only to be more active in consuming online news but also in commenting online. Many previous studies have investigated the gender imbalance in news consumption of not only traditional media but also online media. Although a few studies explored gender differences in online comments on news, no study has investigated such gender differences using actual data on the basic profiles of commenters. To fill the gap between previous studies and reality and address the gender imbalance in online news comments and public opinion, this study examined the differences between male and female online news commenters. Furthermore, using actual data provided by Naver, the dominant Internet portal in Korea, this study analyzed the characteristics of female news commenters and those of news content where female users most actively commented. This study found that—at least in Korea—fewer women comment on news, they are less active than men, and that there is a difference between younger and older women. This study also found that people write more comments in a day as their age increases and the gender differences decrease with age.