Jamonn Campbell

The Internet Gender Gap Among College Students: Forgotten But Not Gone?

The Internet has been a male-dominated technology since its beginnings in the late 1960s. A number of studies have reported that the gap between the numbers of men and women online has narrowed in recent years. However, broad definitions of usage have often masked important differences in how much the technology is used in specific ways, as well as qualitative differences in mens and womens experiences in using the Internet. One area in which such differences might be particularly important is in higher education, where Internet activities are increasingly a central feature of the curriculum in a variety of departments. We investigated the Internet gender gap among college students by comparing the usage patterns and attitudes of three cohorts of students in 1997, 1998, and 1999. In addition, we examined longitudinal changes from 1997 to 1998 in a subsample of our participants. The cohort comparisons revealed gender differences in five Internet activities (E-mail, World Wide Web [WWW], Usenet, Multiuser...

Unrealistic optimism in internet events

This study assessed the tendency for individuals to be unrealistically optimistic about internet related activities. Ninety-seven participants estimated their chances of experiencing 31 positive and negative internet events compared to the average student at their school. The data indicated that students believed positive internet events were more likely to happen to them and negative events were less likely to happen to them compared to the average student. Heavy internet users reported more optimistic responses than did light users. Perceptions of event characteristics (controllability, desirability, and personal experience) were also significantly correlated with optimistic bias.

The perpetuation of entrained behavior during computer-mediated communication

The present investigation examined the development and persistence of mutual entrainment during dyadic computer-mediated interactions. Entrainment refers to the synchronization and/or modification of endogenous temporal rhythms by external forces (Ancona & Chong, 1996; Kelly, 1988; McGrath, Kelly, & Machatka, 1984). Our findings indicate that entrainment readily occurs during computer-mediated communication, as our participants altered their rates of communication to match those of a confederate who was responding at a consistently slow pace. Subsequently, when participants were paired during a second computer-mediated interaction session, their initial rates of entrainment transferred to these new groups and served to mutually influence each others communication rates.