Online Communication Preferences across Age, Gender, and Duration of Internet Use
Abstract
The present study explored variations in online communication and relationship preferences for friends, family, coworkers, and unknown individuals across gender (men, women), age (young, middle, late), and duration of Internet use (low, medium, high). A total of 174 individuals participated in this study. They were divided into two gender (86 men and 88 women), three age (60 young, 60 middle, and 54 late) and three Internet use duration (60 low, 58 medium, and 54 high) groups. All participants completed several questionnaires that assessed online communication and relationship building preferences. Results indicated no significant main effect for gender and online communication and relationship preferences. The main effect for age was significant for online communication with friends and unknown individuals. Young adults indicated their higher preferences for online communication with friends and unknown individuals compared to middle and late adult age groups. The main effect for duration of Internet use was significant for online communication and relationship preferences. High Internet users indicated higher scores on online communication and relationship building, compared to their counterparts. No significant main effects for duration of Internet use were significant on any of the offline characteristics. Implications of these findings and their relevance to mental health issues and organizational environment were discussed.
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Women are more likely to engage in online communication to maintain personal connections with family, friends, and coworkers, whereas men use online communication for pursuing sexual interests and romance.
“For example, women are more likely to engage in online communication to maintain personal connections with family, friends, and coworkers, whereas men use online communication for pursuing sexual interests and romance.4”
From MySpace and Facebook: Applying the Uses and Gratifications Theory to Exploring Friend-Networking Sites (2008) · cites this paper as [4]
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- Authors
- Thayer, S. E., & Ray, S.
- Affiliations
- Linkage, Inc., Burlington, Massachusetts.
- Suffolk University (US)
- ORCID
- Ray, Sukanya
- Venue
- CyberPsychology & Behavior
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2006-08
- Volume
- 9
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 432-440
- ISSN
- 1094-9313 (ISSN-L)
- 1557-8364
- OpenAlex
- W1963585468
- Cited by
- 193
- References
- 19
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 18 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 16 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 9 · 2014: 12 · 2013: 11 · 2012: 14
- FWCI
- 16.20
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- CyberPsychology & Behavior (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Social Sciences › Demography › Technology Use by Older Adults
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Human-Computer Interaction › Digital Communication and Language
- Keywords
- relationship building, age differences, gender differences, young adults, online relationships, offline relationships, mental health, organizational context
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Age Factors, Analysis of Variance, Attitude to Computers, Communication, Consumer Behavior, Female, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Male, Middle Aged, Surveys and Questionnaires, Reference Values, Sex Factors, Social Support, Time Factors, Statistics, Nonparametric, Internet
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