4. Nuove Tecnologie e Autoefficacia percepita: influenze del genere e delle modalità d'uso

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to understand the role of perceived self-efficacy in the digital divide in an Italian sample, considering both the effect of gender and of computer use. Both variables were considered in American research, but without a comparison of the effect in the same sample  (Anderson, Bikson, Law, & Mitchell, 1995; Hoffman, Kalsbeek, & Novak, 1996; Hoffman & Novak, 1998). Through an extensive sampling via the Internet, this study evaluated the influence of more variables on perceived self-efficacy with regard to computer use: gender, age, years of owning their own PC, hours (per week) of computer use offline and hours (per week) of computer use online. Analysis of the data (one-way ANOVA) shows that gender and age affect the ability to solve unexpected problems, while the frequency of use allows users to develop a critical approach especially during navigation.