Clues toward the user’s gender are revealed in almost every aspect of Internet behavior; online chatting, navigation, site exploration, etc…   One would think that Internet communication would rely more on anonymity because “conventional signs of gender, such as intonation and voice pitch, facial features, body image, nonverbal cues, dress and demeanor, are absent.” (Danet 1998) However, the WWW targets gender through other avenues like advertisements, search engines, and basic Internet design standards.

    Women still view computer technology as an arena that they cannot succeed in because of the common image of it as an area of expertise for male computer hackers.  Learning environments have a strong impact on the response of the learners.  Thus, if women are intimated by this male dominated field to the point where they initially believe that they are going to fail and make mistakes, they will never be able to succeed with confidence and proper self-assurance.  One women commented that “computers aren’t something I grew up using every waking minute like the guys in my classes, so I find it difficult to keep up.  No matter how long or hard I study, I always feel like I’m behind, because things like hacking come so naturally to them.” (Martin 1998)

From the Flinstones to the Jetsons:
How Technology is Sprocketing the American Family into the New Millennium
 

PROJECT HOME PAGE	Child-Parent Dynamics in the CyberAge by Michael Johnson
The Cyber-Struggle Between Parents and Children by Julie Carvey	Computer and Internet Demographics  by Jason Stewart

Social Psychology / Miami University (Ohio USA).
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This document has been accessed   times since 1 May 1999.
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