Journalartikel

Autorenliste: Abendschön, Simone; García-Albacete, Gema

Jahr der Veröffentlichung: 2021

Seiten: 2054-2074

Zeitschrift: Information, Communication and Society

Bandnummer: 24

Heftnummer: 14

ISSN: 1369-118X

eISSN: 1468-4462

DOI Link: https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2021.1962944

Verlag: Taylor and Francis Group

Abstract: 

Despite initial optimism, a gender gap seems to exist in online political engagement. In this article, we focus on online political discussion and show that women use the internet to discuss politics significantly less than men. We propose that this is a 'new' gender gap and not a simple reflection of the traditional gender gap in offline political discussion activities. A unique dataset from Germany facilitates an empirical comparison of online and offline political discussion and their explanatory factors. We contend that the online environment imposes additional obstacles to women's willingness to discuss politics as the result of a hostile environment and distinct socialization patterns. The resulting gap is visible in terms of specific personality traits that women, in comparison to men, require to discuss politics online. Using the 'Big Five' personality trait repertory, we show that women that score high on agreeableness are significantly less likely to discuss politics online than men with the same trait. We also find significant differences in the way the personality traits extraversion and openness influence both women's and men's participation in online and offline discussion.

Harvard-Zitierstil: Abendschön, S. and García-Albacete, G. (2021) It's a man's (online) world. Personality traits and the gender gap in online political discussion, Information, Communication and Society, 24(14), pp. 2054-2074. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2021.1962944

APA-Zitierstil: Abendschön, S., & García-Albacete, G. (2021). It's a man's (online) world. Personality traits and the gender gap in online political discussion. Information, Communication and Society. 24(14), 2054-2074. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2021.1962944