Men, women, and Web 2.0 writing: Gender difference in Facebook composing

Abstract

Abstract While the nature of composition on Facebook has become a common topic of interest in composition journals, how gender identification affects Facebook use has not been studied. This study gives an overview of differences between women and men in Facebook usage based on a large-scale survey of first-year composition students about their Facebook use. Among the findings of the survey are that women tend to have had Facebook profiles for longer, use Facebook more, and are more thoughtful about their Facebook use. The researcher uses these findings to suggest drawing on previous studies related to gender and composition in the study of Web 2.0 technologies in computers and writing literature. The findings also suggest an exploration of gender and other identity markers may be fruitful when using social network sites in first-year composition classes.