This article presents the results of a quantitative study (n = 1,058) of the gender divide in ICT attitudes. In general, females had more negative attitudes towards computers and the Internet than did men. Results indicate a positive relationship between ICT experience and ICT attitudes. This experience is measured by period of time using a computer and self-perceived computer and Internet experience. Further analyses on the impact of gender on this correlation of ICT experience and ICT attitudes were conducted by means of a multivariate model. General Linear Model (GLM) analysis revealed that there was a significant effect of gender, computer use, and self-perceived computer experience on computer anxiety attitudes, as well as several significant interaction effects. Males were found to have less computer anxiety than females; respondents who have used computers for a longer period of time and respondents with a higher self-perception of experience also show less computer anxiety. However, the GLM plot shows that the influence of computer experience works in different ways for males and females. Computer experience has a positive impact on decreasing computer anxiety for men, but a similar effect was not found for women. The model was also tested for computer liking and Internet-liking factors.

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This research note investigates the socio-demographics of one aspect of the 'digital divide', namely computer use and attitudes. The results are drawn from a large-scale survey of computer use and attitudes among the adult population of Flanders. They show that computer non-use and negative attitudes towards digital developments, far from being limited to relatively small segments of society, are reported by over 40 % of respondents. Regression analyses indicate that level of education is the strongest predictor variable of computer disquietude, followed by age and then gender. The implications of these results are briefly discussed.

Recent research predicts the narrowing of the gender gap concerning new media use. This article presents the results of a quantitative study (n ϭ 1058) of the gender gap in Flanders. Significant gender differences were found with men having more access to, and making more use of computers, the Internet and e-mail. In general, females reported more negative attitudes towards new media than men did. Thus, it appears that, despite American research indicating the opposite, in Flanders the gender gap is still very much in evidence. To contextualize the relationship between gender, computer anxiety, and attitudes a multiple regression analysis was carried out on socio-demographic variables and computer-related items. The results showed that, although gender remains a significant factor, it is computer experience which is the strongest predictor of computer anxiety and attitudes.

De 12-tot 25-jarigen van nu worden de webgeneratie genoemd. Het is de eerste generatie die zich geen wereld kan voorstellen zonder internet. Maar wat nou als men niet over de nodige ICT-vaardigheden beschikt? e-volutie De digitale kloofHer is tegenwoordig duidelijk dat digibetisme zou kunnen leiden tot een nieuwe vorm van sociale uirsluiting op basis van informatiearmoede. Deze nieuwe marginalen binnen de informatiemaatschappij zouden ernstige gevolgen kunnen gaan ondervinden van hun nier-gebruik van computers en internet. Er rijzen dan ook heel war vragen over de mate waarin deze 'non-adopters' in de toekomst nog maatschappelijk zullen kunnen participeren. De onderzoekswereld deelt deze bezorgdheid over her ontstaan van een informatie-'underclass; war resulteerde in her studiedomein van de digitale kloof. De term 'digitale kloof' slaat op de tweedeling die is ontstaan tussen personen die wel toegang hebben tot ICT en individuen die daar geen toegang toe hebben. Ofwel: her onderscheid tussen personen die weten hoe ze een computer moeten hanteren en diegenen die (nog) niet over ICT-vaardigheden beschikken. Agnetha Broos (Agnetha.Broos@ehb.be) is Academisch Onderzoekscoiirdinator aan de Erasmushogeschool Brussel en geaffilieerd onderzoeker aan Leuven School for Mass Communication Research (Faculteit Sociale Wetenschappen, K.U.Leuven). Dit artikel licht enkele resultaten toe van haar doctoraatsonderzoek. Literatuurselectie Broos, A. (2006) De digitale kloof in de computergeneratie: ICT-exclusie bij adolescenten. Leuven: Leuven School for Mass Communication Research.