Joo-Young Jung

Exploring the Digital Divide Internet Connectedness and Age

The existence of a digital divide between old and young Americans has been well documented. It is usually defined as access or lack of access to the Internet. This study adds context to the understanding of the digital divide by demonstrating differenes in Internet connectedness, a multidimensional concept that includes consideration of the scope and intensity of the relationship that people develop with the Internet. Age is shown to be significantly associated not just with access, but with a tendency to pursue a more narrow range of personal goals online and with a pattern of connecting to the Internet from a smaller range of places. Nonetheless, older respondents evaluate the Internet to be as central to their lives as younger people do. Some support is offered for the idea that the digital divide is not merely a generational effect.

Internet Connectedness and Inequality Beyond the “Divide”

This article presents the Internet Connectedness Index (ICI), a measure for monitoring long-term inequalities in the quality of Internet connections among users, especially in terms of whether Internet connections will enhance the chances of peoples upward mobility. This index is preferable to more established digital divide measures (e.g., gadgetry ownership or time online) for research on how the Internet is being incorporated into a world of structural inequalities. The ICI utilizes conventional time, history, and context measures, but goes beyond them to capture the scope and centrality of Internet incorporation into the everyday lives of diverse social groups. The validity and robustness of ICI vis-á-vis conventional ownership and time online measures are demonstrated in this article. In addition, the authors discuss theoretical, methodological, and policy implications based on the results. The analytical data are drawn from the Communication Technology and Community Programs Metamorphosis Project, an inquiry into the communication infrastructures of seven ethnically marked residential areas in Los Angeles.

The influence of social environment on internet connectedness of adolescents in Seoul, Singapore and Taipei

This article examines the influence of the social environment on adolescents’ connectedness to the internet in East Asia, one of the most wired regions in the world. Connectedness is a qualitative conceptualization of an individual’s relationship with the internet, taking into consideration the breadth, depth, and the importance of individuals’ internet experience. This study seeks to situate adolescents’ internet connectedness in three spheres of social environment: (1) the general social support measured by how easy it is to get help when adolescents encounter problems in using the internet; (2) the parents, where we examine parents’ socioeconomic status and their internet use; and (3) the peer group, where we look into the proportion of friends who connect to the internet. The results from a survey of 1303 adolescents in Seoul, Singapore and Taipei support our major hypothesis that among the internet-using adolescents, their internet connectedness patterns differ by the nature of their social environments.

Ethnicity, place, and communication technology: Effects of ethnicity on multi‐dimensional internet connectedness

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the unique effect of ethnicity on peoples internet connectedness. Internet connectedness is a multi‐dimensional relationship that individuals form with the internet.Design/methodology/approach – Survey findings from a study of four ethnic groups living in seven residential areas within ten miles from the Los Angeles Civic Center indicate that ethnicity has a significant unique effect not only on the rate of peoples internet access, but also on the three dimensions of the internet connectedness index: context and history; scope and intensity; and centrality, after controlling for individual socio‐economic factors.Findings – The results indicated that African‐Americans lagged behind other ethnic groups in all three dimensions of their internet connectedness. This suggests that the ways in which the internet is incorporated into peoples everyday lives are likely to differ by geo‐ethnic areas.Originality/value – Implications of these results are discussed f...

Internet connectedness before and after September 11 2001

Abstract Based on survey data gathered before and after September 11, 2001 (‘9/11’), this study examines the relationship between ‘internet connectedness’ and communicative actions after September 11 2001. The study found that: (1) people heightened their dependency relations with traditional mass media after September 11, regardless of whether or not they had an internet connection; (2) ‘internet high-connectors’ intensified their internet connections, while ‘internet low-connectors’ decreased the intensity of their internet connections; and (3) internet high-connectors participated in a broader range of civic activities in response to September 11 than did internet low-and non-connectors.

Becoming Citizens: Youths’ Civic Uses of New Media in Five Digital Cities in East Asia

Asian youths are embracing communication technologies at a burgeoning rate, yet interesting differences in Internet access and use exist among this younger generation. Our empirical investigation provides a rich and comparative look into what Asian youths do online, with an emphasis on an understudied area: their civic uses of new media. Data collected among youths aged between 12 and 17 in Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, and Tokyo in 2007 show that this ‘digital generation’ has grown up with computers and the Internet, with 96% of them being internet users, and having 6 years of computer experience on average. Our results suggest that the Internet may facilitate citizenship among Asian youths although entertainment-related activities such as downloading music or playing games remain the most popular activities online. Sixty-five percent of them read online news, almost half of them have ever cast a vote on the Internet, and every one in five has signed an online petition. Differences in Internet usage and civic behaviors among youths in five cities are presented, suggesting the contextual nature of Internet use influenced by civic culture.The paper concludes with a discussion of differences in Internet use among Asian youths between 2001 and 2007, together with research implications for better understanding this population.

Trusting Social Media as a Source of Health Information: Online Surveys Comparing the United States, Korea, and Hong Kong

Background The Internet has increasingly become a popular source of health information by connecting individuals with health content, experts, and support. More and more, individuals turn to social media and Internet sites to share health information and experiences. Although online health information seeking occurs worldwide, limited empirical studies exist examining cross-cultural differences in perceptions about user-generated, experience-based information compared to expertise-based information sources. Objective To investigate if cultural variations exist in patterns of online health information seeking, specifically in perceptions of online health information sources. It was hypothesized that Koreans and Hongkongers, compared to Americans, would be more likely to trust and use experience-based knowledge shared in social Internet sites, such as social media and online support groups. Conversely, Americans, compared to Koreans and Hongkongers, would value expertise-based knowledge prepared and approved by doctors or professional health providers more. Methods Survey questionnaires were developed in English first and then translated into Korean and Chinese. The back-translation method ensured the standardization of questions. Surveys were administered using a standardized recruitment strategy and data collection methods. Results A total of 826 participants living in metropolitan areas from the United States (n=301), Korea (n=179), and Hong Kong (n=337) participated in the study. We found significant cultural differences in information processing preferences for online health information. A planned contrast test revealed that Koreans and Hongkongers showed more trust in experience-based health information sources (blogs: t 451.50=11.21, P<.001; online support group: t 455.71=9.30, P<.001; social networking sites [SNS]: t 466.75=11.36, P<.001) and also reported using blogs (t 515.31=6.67, P<.001) and SNS (t 529.22=4.51, P<.001) more frequently than Americans. Americans showed a stronger preference for using expertise-based information sources (eg, WebMD and CDC) compared to Koreans and Hongkongers (t 360.02=3.01, P=.003). Trust in expertise-based information sources was universal, demonstrating no cultural differences (Brown-Forsythe F 2,654=1.82, P=.16). Culture also contributed significantly to differences in searching information on behalf of family members (t 480.38=5.99, P<.001) as well as to the goals of information searching. Conclusions This research found significant cultural differences in information processing preferences for online health information. Further discussion is included regarding effective communication strategies in providing quality health information.

Multi-level functionality of social media in the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake

This study examines the multi-level functionalities of social media in the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake of 11 March 2011. Based on a conceptual model of multi-level story flows of social media (Jung and Moro, 2012), the study analyses the multiple functionalities that were ascribed to social media by individuals, organisations, and macro-level social systems (government and the mass media) after the earthquake. Based on survey data, a review of Twitter timelines and secondary sources, the authors derive five functionalities of social media: interpersonal communications with others (micro level); channels for local governments; organisations and local media (meso level); channels for mass media (macro level); information sharing and gathering (cross level); and direct channels between micro-/meso- and macro-level agents. The study sheds light on the future potential of social media in disaster situations and suggests how to design an effective communication network to prepare for emergency situations.

The dynamic relationship between East Asian adolescents’ use of the internet and their use of other media

We examined the internet connectedness of adolescents in relation to their use of traditional media, including television, radio and newspapers, as well as their goals when going online. The study was based on a survey of 1874 adolescents in five East Asian cities – Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul, Taipei and Tokyo. We first identify three types of internet connectedness: communication/entertainment; expression/participation; and information/research. We then examine how each type of internet connectedness relates to adolescents’ use of other media. Finally, we examine how different types of internet connectedness and other media uses are shaped by ‘internet-related goals’. Our research results indicate that the use of the internet together with other media such as television, radio and newspapers differs depending on the type of internet connectedness, and that adolescents use not only the internet but other types of media to fulfill specific internet-related goals.

Where do you go online? A comparison of internet connectedness via personal computers and mobile phones in Japan

The ways in which people use the internet via Personal Computers (PCs) and mobile phones are examined in the unique context of Japan where the majority of people use the internet via mobile phones. Applying the concept of internet connectedness, peoples PC internet connectedness and mobile internet connectedness are compared. The result indicates that people engage in a wider variety of activities via their computers than via mobile phones. Also, PC connectedness showed a significantly higher number of e-mails received per day than mobile connectedness, while the number of e-mails sent was similar between the two media.