Abstract:
Digital Divide (DD) is classified into three levels as the first level
DD depicts the difference in physical access of hardware and software and
internet connection; second-level DD refers to the difference in digital usage
and third-level DD as the difference in outcomes received from digital usage.
One of the forms of DD is Gender Digital Divide (GDD), remotely explained
as unequal access of digital tools among men and women. Extensive studies
in different economies were conducted to understand the factors contributing
to GDD, specifically in relation to the first level of Digital Divide, but the
present authors found few records on the factors affecting or barriers
contributing to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) usage,
causing the second level of GDD. Therefore, the study aims to understand
the second level of GDD of Indian youth affected by the barriers classified
as: Technical Barriers, Economical Barriers, and Social Networking Barriers;
where the digital usage in categorized as: Entertainment Usage,
Professional Usage and Financial Usage. Out of the distributed 400
structured questionnaires among the randomly selected University students,
368 were completed. ANOVA test resulted in significant difference in
Entertainment Usage and Financial Usage of ICT and internet among both
genders where females are found to be more inclined to both the uses, as
depicted through comparative means. No significant difference was found in
Professional Usage among genders. Significant difference was reported with
regards to Social Networking Barriers and Economical Barriers. This study
contributes in understanding the factors affecting second level of digital
divide, specifically. Females highly face all the three barriers as compared to
men, in spite of which Entertainment Usage and Financial Usage is more
among women.
