Women’s learning on internet and social networks: Validation and general results of a scale

Abstract

Reports and policies of digital inclusion on an international level highlight the importance of increasing the role of women in the knowledge society by promoting their skills in the use of the internet and social networks. This paper presents three scales used to measure their learning and some preliminary results obtained with them. We applied scales composed of 10 items each, which measure motives, strategies and learning resources respectively to 1,340 Spanish women aged 18 to 65, selected through stratified sampling by quotas considering age and employment status. The results indicate an optimal construct validity and a high reliability index of the three scales (motives, α =.890, strategies, α =.900, and resources, α =.872). The results show that women learn to use social networks and the internet for a wide variety of reasons, highlighting at a specific level the performance of administrative procedures, the development of hobbies or the management of their training. We also find that women deploy a variety of strategies using more frequently autonomous learning actions with support from friends and family, consulting websites and videotutorials, observing how other people do it and experimenting with technology itself. In conclusion, the scales are valuable to know how women learn about the internet and social networks. This study opens the way to rethinking the training offer aimed at increasing the visibility and prominence of women in the knowledge society, considering the nature and diversity of learning.