Personality predictors for the use of multiple internet functions

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how the Big-Five model of personality traits relates to the use of multiple internet functions and test if the relationship differs by gender, age, and education. Design/methodology/approach – To test the research questions, this study uses data from a large-scale survey of 9,479 Korean media users. Poisson’s regression is applied to model the count data, which accounts for the number of internet functions used. In the regression models, the first block entered is socio-demographics followed by a second block including personality traits. Findings – Results indicate that openness to experience and conscientiousness are positively related to using multiple internet functions, whereas emotional stability has a negative relationship. The findings differed depending on age and education. The younger age cohort, with higher levels of conscientiousness and extraversion, are likely to use more internet functions. In addition, the relationship between conscientiousness and using multiple internet functions is relevant for users with higher education levels. Originality/value – The present paper is the first that uses multiple internet functions as a critical variable to study individual difference factors. Overall, this study provides evidence that individual difference factors such as socio-demographics and personality traits have a strong role to play in internet research.