"Gender, Gender Inequality, and the Use of Social Network Sites"

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We combine gender research and technology adoption theory to hypothesize how, why, and under which circumstances differences between sexes affect their use of social network sites (SNS). Gender theory holds that women differ from men in terms of their engagement in communication, their enjoyment of communication, and the extent to which they can be influenced by others. Building on these premises, we argue that women are likely to use SNS more than men, particularly because: (1) women perceive SNS as more useful, (2) women feel stronger social incentives to use SNS, and (3) women show a higher hedonic motivation to use SNS. In a major elaboration on these expectations, we suggest that the effects of gender on SNS usage increase as the level of gender inequality rises. We find substantial support for our propositions in data gathered from 6,872 survey participants from nine countries in 2011. Our study is the first to decrypt the interplay of gender differences and gender inequality in the context of SNS. Our results highlight the potentially significant socio-economic impact of SNS and have strong implications for management and information systems research, technology adoption theory, and sociology at large. Implications for managerial practice are discussed.