Abstract

This study employs a qualitative approach to examine whether and why some societal groups are disadvantaged more by their Internet use than others do. Due to the quantitative nature of most digital divide studies, thorough explanations for why different outcomes exist are lacking. Interviews were conducted with 48 Dutch families selected on the basis of educational level (high or low) and household characteristics (children and marital status). A distinction was made between the types of negative outcomes that families are confronted with and how they cope with those outcomes. The results show that the confrontation with negative outcomes of Internet use in itself seems similar for both educational groups. However, the way Internet users cope with negative outcomes differs between the two educational groups. Members of highly educated groups mostly try to take control themselves when faced with a negative outcome, while members of less educated groups often just experience negative outcomes and do not remedial actions.

摘要

这项研究采用定性方法来检验某些社会群体是否以及为什么比使用其他社会群体更容易受到互联网的不利影响。由于大多数数字鸿沟研究的定量性质，因此缺乏关于为何存在不同结果的透彻解释。对根据教育水平（高或低）和家庭特征（儿童和婚姻状况）选择的48个荷兰家庭进行了访谈。在家庭所面对的负面结果的类型与他们如何应对这些负面结果之间进行了区分。结果表明，对于两个教育群体，互联网使用本身带来的负面结果的对抗似乎相似。但是，网民的方式应对负面结果在两个教育组之间有所不同。受过良好教育的小组成员大多会在面对负面结果时设法控制自己，而受过较少教育的小组成员往往只会经历负面结果而没有采取补救措施。