General Internet Use Research Articles

Comparing Internet affinity and the Big Five personality factors between Hungarian and Israeli medical students

Comparing Internet affinity and the Big Five personality factors between Hungarian and Israeli medical students

Preliminary Examination of International Students' Adjustment and Loneliness Related to Electronic Communications

Electronic communication, e.g., e-mail, internet, may facilitate international students' adjustment through contacts maintained in their native country. In the present study, the scores of 45 international students on a measure of adjustment and the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale were significantly associated with their electronic communications involving their native country, but not with general internet or e-mail use. International students' scores on the Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure were positively correlated with amount of contact with people in their native country but not with scores on measures of adjustment or loneliness.

Internet Identification and Future Internet Use

This paper reports a study investigating the relationship between Internet identification and future Internet use. We predict that Internet identification is stable over time and that it is predictive of future use. The participants were 216 undergraduate students (184 females and 32 males) from five universities in the United Kingdom. They completed a questionnaire concerning their use of the Internet and a measure of Internet identification at the start of the academic year and at the end of the academic year. We found that Internet identification measured at the beginning of the academic year was positively related to Internet identification measured at the end of the academic year. Furthermore, there was a positive relationship between Internet identification and future general Internet use and a positive relationship between Internet identification and future educational Internet use.

Internet Self-Efficacy and the Psychology of the Digital Divide

Internet self-efficacy, or the belief in one's capabilities to organize and execute courses of Internet actions required to produce given attainments, is a potentially important factor in efforts to close the digital divide that separates experienced Internet users from novices. Prior research on Internet self-efficacy has been limited to examining specific task performance and narrow behavioral domains rather than overall attainments in relation to general Internet use, and has not yielded evidence of reliability and construct validity. Survey data were collected to develop a reliable operational measure of Internet self-efficacy and to examine its construct validity. An eight-item Internet self-efficacy scale developed for the present study was found to be reliable and internally consistent. Prior Internet experience, outcome expectancies and Internet use were significantly and positively correlated to Internet self-efficacy judgments. Internet stress and self-disparagement were negatively related to Internet self-efficacy. A path analysis model was tested within the theoretical framework of social cognitive theory (Bandura (1997).

Evaluation of Health-related Internet Use in Germany

An eHealth survey was conducted in a major Bavarian region in order to evaluate health-related Internet use in Germany. A specific questionnaire was developed by the authors to collect sociodemographic data as well as data on general and health-related Internet use. This questionnaire was distributed to patients visiting medical practices in the above mentioned Bavarian region. Whereas many Internet users look for health-related information and products on the Internet, more advanced web-based techniques such as chat rooms and electronic patient records are hardly used. Although modern information technologies have the potential to enable citizens to handle their own health-related information in a self-determined and informed manner, at present the general population in Germany is hardly taking this opportunity.

Professors online: The Internet’s impact on college faculty

This paper reports on findings from a nationwide survey of Internet use by U.S. college faculty. The survey asked about general Internet use, use of specific Internet technologies (e–mail, IM, Web, etc.), the Internet’s impact on teaching and research, its impact on faculty–student interactions, and about faculty perceptions of students’ Internet use. There is general optimism, though little evidence, about the Internet’s impacts on their professional lives. The findings show that institutions of higher education still need to address three broad areas (infrastructure, professional development, and teaching and research) to assist faculty to continue to make good use of the Internet in their professional work.

Gender, Internet Identification, and Internet Anxiety: Correlates of Internet Use

This paper reports a study that investigated the effects of gender, Internet anxiety, and Internet identification on use of the Internet. The study involved 608 undergraduate students (490 females and 118 males). We surveyed the students' experience with the Internet, as well as their levels of Internet anxiety and Internet identification. We found a number of gender differences in participants' use of the Internet. Males were proportionally more likely to have their own web page than were females. They used the Internet more than females; in particular, they were more likely to use game websites, to use other specialist websites, and to download material from the Internet. However, females did not use the Internet for communication more than males. There was a significant positive relationship between Internet identification and total use of the Internet, and a significant negative relationship between Internet anxiety and total use of the Internet. Controlling for Internet identification and Internet anxiety, we found a significant and negative correlation between gender and use of the Internet. In total, all three of our predictors accounted for 40% of the variance in general Internet use: with Internet identification accounting for 26%, Internet anxiety accounting for 11%, and gender accounting for 3%.

Depressive symptomatology, youth Internet use, and online interactions: A national survey

Purpose To investigate the online communications and self-disclosure practices of youth reporting depressive symptomatology. Method The Youth Internet Safety Survey was a nationally representative telephone survey of 1501 Internet-using youth between the ages of 10 and 17 years, and one caregiver in their household. Fifty-three percent of youth participants were male and 73% were white race. The purpose of the survey was to obtain prevalence rates for unwanted sexual solicitation, harassment, and unwanted exposure to sexual material among young people online. Questions about current depressive symptomatology were also queried; this variable was defined based upon the DSM-IV definition of a major depressive episode: major depressive-like symptomatology (5+ symptoms of depression and functional impairment in at least one area); minor depressive-like symptomatology (3+ symptoms of depression); mild or no depressive symptomatology (<3 symptoms of depression). Data were cross-sectional and collected between the fall of 1999 and spring 2000. Multinomial logistic regression was used to estimate the conditional odds of reporting DSM-IV-like major or minor depressive symptomatology vs. mild/no symptomatology given the indication of self-disclosure practices and interactions with others online. Males and females were assessed separately. Results Talking with strangers online, using the Internet most frequently for e-mailing others, and intensity of Internet use differentiated youth reporting depressive symptoms from asymptomatic peers. Report of depressive symptomatology was not related to most measures of general Internet use nor gender differences. Personal disclosure was significantly more likely to be reported by both young men and young women who reported major depressive symptomatology vs. mild or no symptomatology. Differences were observed for how adolescents choose to self-disclose; females posted pictures of themselves, whereas males were more likely to provide personally identifiable information. Finally, most gender-related variation reflected differences in the magnitude of Internet associations with depressive symptoms rather than the types of Internet use, access, or online communications. Conclusions Youth-reported depressive symptomatology is associated with differences in online interactions and self-disclosure practices.

Influencing Consumer Cross-Border Internet Pharmacy Shopping Behavior

This paper draws upon published literature, focus groups, workshops, and individual patient views to identify general use of Internet for health information and, specifically, use of cross-border Internet pharmacy Web sites to locate and purchase prescription drugs. The paper applies the theoretical frameworks of risk perception theory and social cognition theory to attempt to explain why American patients continue to shop for prescription medications through cross-border Internet pharmacies (CBIP) despite its questionable legal status and potential for serious harm.

Internet Use Among People with HIV/AIDS

ABSTRACT The Internet offers people with HIV/AIDS timely information about treatment advances and supportive social contacts for this stigmatized disease, yet little is known about Internet use patterns among people with HIV/AIDS. This study of 120 persons with HIV/AIDS in the U.S. found approximately 19% used the Internet for HIV/AIDS-related purposes, much lower than the rate for general Internet use among the U.S. population. Lower incomes were associated with lower rates of use, echoing the “digital divide” found in the general population. Access from home was most common and information sought was primarily on medical treatments and medications. Possible reasons for low access rates, strategies for increasing access, and implications for other client groups are discussed.

Beyond logs and surveys: In‐depth measures of people's web use skills

AbstractFinding information on the Web can be a much more complex search process than previously experienced on many pre‐Web information retrieval systems given that finding content online does not have to happen via a search algorithm typed into a search field. Rather, the Web allows for a myriad of search strategies. Although there are numerous studies of Web search techniques, these studies often limit their focus to just one part of the search process and are not based on the behavior of the general user population, nor do they include information about the users. To remedy these shortcomings, this project looks at how people find information online in the context of their other media use, their general Internet use patterns, in addition to using information about their demographic background and social support networks. This article describes the methodology in detail, and suggests that a mix of survey instruments and in‐person observations can yield the type of rich data set that is necessary to understand in depth the differences in people's information retrieval behavior online.