Abstract |
Since the Taiwan Network was initiated in 1995, the number of net users is growing very fast. There were two million net users in 1998 and there will be approximately three million in 1999. However, according to several Internet investigations, the number of male users and female users is dramatically unequal. Although the number of female users is increasing constantly, the rate of increase of female users is still much lower than males' Democracy in computer-mediated communications, such as Internet or cyberspace, must offer access and communication equally and without status constraints. This study, which is based on an online network investigation done in 1986, compares differences between male and female users in terms of status, motivation, information needs, and network ethics.
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