Wenhong Chen

Digital inequalities and why they matter

While the field of digital inequality continues to expand in many directions, the relationship between digital inequalities and other forms of inequality has yet to be fully appreciated. This article invites social scientists in and outside the field of digital media studies to attend to digital inequality, both as a substantive problem and as a methodological concern. The authors present current research on multiple aspects of digital inequality, defined expansively in terms of access, usage, skills, and self-perceptions, as well as future lines of research. Each of the contributions makes the case that digital inequality deserves a place alongside more traditional forms of inequality in the twenty-first century pantheon of inequalities. Digital inequality should not be only the preserve of specialists but should make its way into the work of social scientists concerned with a broad range of outcomes connected to life chances and life trajectories. As we argue, the significance of digital inequalities is clear across a broad range of individual-level and macro-level domains, including life course, gender, race, and class, as well as health care, politics, economic activity, and social capital.

Sharing, Liking, Commenting, and Distressed? The Pathway Between Facebook Interaction and Psychological Distress

Studies on the mental health implications of social media have generated mixed results. Drawing on a survey of college students (N=513), this research uses structural equation modeling to assess the relationship between Facebook interaction and psychological distress and two underlying mechanisms: communication overload and self-esteem. It is the first study, to our knowledge, that examines how communication overload mediates the mental health implications of social media. Frequent Facebook interaction is associated with greater distress directly and indirectly via a two-step pathway that increases communication overload and reduces self-esteem. The research sheds light on new directions for understanding psychological well-being in an increasingly mediated social world as users share, like, and comment more and more.

The Implications of Social Capital for the Digital Divides in America

The existing literature is oriented toward examining how Internet access and use may affect social capital. The role of social capital in narrowing the digital divides has been frequently mentioned but few studies have empirically examined how various types of social capital may affect peoples access and use of the Internet. Drawing on a two-wave national panel data set, this article aims to fill this gap. Results demonstrate that social capital facilitates Internet access and use. In particular resource-rich bonding social capital helps overcome the digital divides in access, general use, and online communication. Before the Internet can revitalize social capital, there must be the right social capital in place to close the digital divides. Highlighting the relationship between social connectivity and digital connectivity, the findings have important implications for policymakers and practitioners.

More than search? Informational and participatory eHealth behaviors

Few studies in the eHealth literature have paid attention to participatory eHealth behaviors. Addressing this gap, the present study examines how informational and participatory eHealth behaviors are related to eHealth literacy, Internet use and Facebook interaction, as well as user characteristics. Drawing on a sample of college students (N=540), results from Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis show that eHealth literacy has a positive direct effect on informational eHealth behaviors. It also serves as a mediator suppressing the negative relationship between excellent mental health status and eHealth behaviors. While both instrumental Internet use and Facebook interaction are related to participatory eHealth behaviors, only instrumental Internet use is associated with informational eHealth behaviors. There are significant eHealth disparities by health status, gender, and class. Implications for health communication and promotion are discussed.

What happens on Facebook stays on Facebook? The implications of Facebook interaction for perceived, receiving, and giving social support

Facebook interaction is positively related to receiving social support on Facebook.Facebook interaction is positively related to giving social support on Facebook.Facebook interaction is not associated with perceived social support in general.Receiving social support on Facebook is not related to perceived social support.Giving social support on Facebook is not related to perceived social support. Relatively few studies have examined the social implications of SNSs for various dimensions of social support, even though different dimensions of social support can have differential impacts on peoples well-being. This study fills this gap by examining how Facebook interaction is related to various types of social support-enacted receiving and giving social support on Facebook and perceived social support in general. A survey of college students at a large public university in the U.S. reveals that Facebook interaction is positively related to receiving and giving social support on Facebook. However, neither social interaction nor enacted social support on Facebook is related to perceived social support in general.

Brokering new technologies: The role of children in their parents’ usage of the internet

This study investigated to what extent sons and daughters influence their parents’ adoption of digital media, particularly the internet, compared to other influence sources. It also explored structural factors that play a role in this bottom-up process, such as socio-economic differences and gender. Finally, it examined the relationship between this bottom-up technology transmission process and parents’ levels of internet self-efficacy and online activities. Drawing from socialization and diffusion of innovation research and using a self-administered random mail survey, we found that children play a role in including their parents in the digital environment, particularly among women, people who are older (35 years old and above), and belong to lower socio-economic groups. We also found that this bottom-up technology transmission is somewhat negatively associated with parents’ internet self-efficacy. Implications and possible interpretations of these results are discussed.

The Logic of Ethnic Business Distribution in Multiethnic Cities

The authors propose a model for understanding ethnic business locations in multiethnic cities. The central argument of the framework is that the location of ethnic businesses reflects the match between the neighborhood business environment and the unique locational demand of the ethnic businesses involved in particular industrial sectors. Hypotheses were tested by a data set of Chinese businesses in the Toronto area drawn from business directories produced by the City of Toronto in 2000 and York Region in Canada in 2001, which were merged with 2001 Canadian census data.

Getting a second opinion: Social capital, digital inequalities, and health information repertoires

This research adopts a repertoire approach to examine the concept of a health information repertoire defined as a set of sources through which people get health information. Drawing on a random sample survey in Austin, TX, it borrows the concepts of cultural omnivores and univores to investigate how health information repertoire are related to social capital and digital inequalities. Results demonstrate that both the size and the composition of health information repertoires vary by social and digital connectivity. People with greater social capital have a larger repertoire and are less likely to be univores dependent on the Internet or interpersonal contacts. People with Internet access have a larger repertoire and are less likely to be univores dependent on television. More skilled Internet users are less likely to be univores dependent on interpersonal contacts, whereas frequent Internet users are more likely to be omnivores with a four‐channel repertoire including the Internet, interpersonal contacts, television, and newspaper. The positive relationship between social capital and repertoire size is stronger among less‐skilled Internet users. There are significant variations in health information repertoires in terms of media access and sociodemographic characteristics. Scholarly and practical implications are discussed.

A Comparison of Ethnic Businesses in Suburbs and City

We extend research on ethnic businesses by comparing the distribution of ethnic businesses in suburbs and city. The study is drawn from a recently compiled data set of Chinese businesses in Toronto. Drawing from four diverse and different sets of literature on ethnic businesses and urban forms, we identify factors that may affect the geographic distribution of ethnic business. The results clearly indicate a substantial presence of ethnic businesses in the suburban areas. They also suggest that Chinese businesses are more clustered in suburban neighborhoods. The multivariate analyses further show that the distribution of Chinese businesses in suburban and city neighborhoods is affected by different sets of factors, which possibly reflect the different effects of suburban and city spatial forms.

Mobile donation in America

Mobile donation has gained mainstream media attention since the Haiti Earthquake Relief in 2010. Yet, there is still a lack of research on mobile donation as a new venue of technology-mediated civic engagement. Using nationally representative survey data, this research examines the variations in mobile donation by mobile phone usage patterns and user characteristics such as age, race, and socioeconomic status. Results show that the diversity of mobile phone use and the frequency of relational mobile communication are positively associated with mobile donation. As importantly, mobile donation helps to overcome age, race and SES gaps, giving members of disadvantaged social groups a more accessible tool for civic engagement. Internet donation and mobile donation complement rather than compete with each other.