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Cultural Divides and Digital Inequalities: Attitudes Shaping Internet and Social Media Divides

Mon, May 29, 8:00 to 9:15, Hilton San Diego Bayfront, Floor: 2, Indigo Ballroom A

Abstract

The attitudes and values of Internet (non)users have been studied over the years, but rarely used to identify broader ‘cultures of the Internet’ and their role in shaping digital divides. This paper builds on research in Britain, which focused on attitudes underpinning Internet cultures, to explore the degree that similar or distinctive cultures have developed in the USA, and whether and how they are useful in explaining digital divides. This study utilizes original data drawn from a 2016 telephone survey of residents across the State of Michigan that adapts survey items and methods from the Oxford Internet Survey (OxIS) of Britain. Based on these survey responses, the paper identifies and describes the cultures of the Internet among Michigan residents, as an exploratory case of the US as a whole, and shows how these cultures shape digital divides in Internet and social media use across this one American state.

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