Uses of the Internet and their relationships with individual differences in personality

Two hundred and twenty adult participants completed postal questionnaires to assess the frequency and location of their use of 16 different Internet services. They also completed a battery of scales covering various trait and cognitive aspects of personality. Internet use was wide spread and diverse. The relative popularities and frequencies of use of the different services were established, and it appears that individuals use the Internet most where it is readily and freely available. Gender and age significantly influenced patterns of use, but there were remarkably few significant associations with individual differences in personality when gender and age were controlled for. Exploratory factor analysis of the frequency of use data for individual services revealed the presence of four inter-correlated factors, which have been identified as Work, Social, Use-at-home, and Leisure. A consideration of the overt purposes for using individual services was not sufficient to identify the factors; it was also necessary to take into account the location at which services were accessed. It has been concluded that individuals’ use of the Internet can be regarded, at least in part, as a form of displacement activity, engaged in when there is nothing else to do or when the task in hand is not especially attractive. # 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. The availability and use of the Internet has increased exponentially in recent years. Recent estimates suggest that there are some 480 million users globally, of whom just over half do not use English as their language of communication (Global Reach, 2001). In addition to having easy access to information on a great variety of topics, users can communicate with one another world-wide through text messages at little or no cost. This rapid expansion has become the subject of popular debate, particularly in the field of human relationships. There are two dissimilar points of view (Parks & Floyd, 1996). On one hand are those who consider that computer-mediated Computers in Human Behavior 19 (2003) 59–70 www.elsevier.com/locate/comphumbeh 0747-5632/03/$ see front matter # 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. PI I : S0747-5632(02 )00016 -X * Corresponding author. Tel.: +44-1235-521-077; fax: +44-1235-520-067. E-mail address: [email protected] (P. Hills). communication is a new technology that allows the formation of genuine personal relationships, free from the restrictions of age, occupation, proximity and physical appearance. In common with traditional friendships based on face to face interaction, these relationships can provide social support, social identity and a sense of belonging (Rheingold, 1993). On the other hand are those who argue that online relationships are shallow, illusory and sometimes exploitative and hostile (Stoll, 1995). Such interactions compete with, and are established at the expense of, traditional face to face social relationships. More immediate concerns often expressed in the media are the ready availability of sexual material, risks to the young, Internet addiction and claims that the Internet is a cause of depression and social isolation (McKenna & Bargh, 2000). It is also part of the popular view that intensive users of the Internet tend to be young males with limited social skills and little selfconfidence (Griffiths, 1996). So far, the body of original research concerned with the Internet is small and early papers have tended to follow the topical concerns of the media. Morahan-Martin and Schumacher (2000) devised a 13-item scale to assess pathological Internet use, and administered it to some 280 US college students. Respondents who positively endorsed four or more items were categorised as pathologically addicted. According to this criterion, 8% of the sample was addicted to the Internet, and addicts were more likely to be male, socially disinhibited online and to report an increased sense of loneliness. However, it could be argued that the arbitrary criterion for addictionpositive responses to any four of 13 items—was set too low. Other research has reached different conclusions. Young and Rogers (1998) reported that the mean age of Internet addicts was over 30, and that the proportions of addicted men and women were about equal. Döring (1996) found no evidence of above average isolation or loneliness in a study of 350 young German Internet users most of whom were male. In considering these results it should be borne in mind that respondents are frequently self-selected by replying to invitations to participate placed on the Internet. Such invitations are more likely to be seen and responded to by intensive users, and this might produce a biased sample. Griffiths (1999) has argued that the Internet may be addictive for ‘‘an exceedingly tiny majority’’. But for the majority, intensive use is purely symptomatic, the Internet is merely ‘‘being used as a tool for engaging in other types of rewarding behaviour’’. There are other important areas of psychological interest. The Internet has a variety of uses for both work and leisure. Examples are information gathering, exchanging e-mails, posting messages on electronic billboards and participation in interactive groups devoted to specific interests. Each of these channels may have different implications for positive and negative well-being. However, most workers have only assessed Internet use by the total time respondents spent online each week. Similarly, there are few studies of how Internet use is associated with individual differences in personality. Does the use of the Internet make people lonely or 1 However, reports have recently appeared (see Uhlig, 2000) that 28 million people in the US and 2 million people in the UK have stopped using the Internet, and that teenagers’ use has declined in particular. 60 P. Hills, M. Argyle / Computers in Human Behavior 19 (2003) 59–70