For the fun of it: adolescent girls' exploration of information technologies and cyberspace
Date
2002
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Degree Level
Masters
Abstract
Adolescent girls of today are the first generation to have wide spread although
not universal access to information technologies such as the Internet. This study looks at
how adolescent girls use and interact with information technologies. Several
participants at the 2000 "Go For IT Girls" conference were both interviewed and asked
to demonstrate their information technology usage. The study found that, while girls are
confident with their information technology usage, they tend to limit their usage to
communication areas. They construct themselves as computer users, but use the
technologies in socially acceptable feminine ways. The societal messages of
consumerism and the beauty myth work to keep adolescent girls in traditional spaces.
They explore cyberspace, but only the socially sanctioned parts. The participants are
constructing themselves as computer users, but this identity in not likely to translate into
increased numbers in computer science classes, or in future careers in Information
Technology fields.
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Citation
Degree
Master of Arts (M.A.)
Department
Women's and Gender Studies
Program
Women's and Gender Studies