Relationship between internet self-efficacy and internet anxiety: A nuanced approach to understanding the connection

Abstract

The present study makes the case that the individual constituents of internet self-efficacy – search self-efficacy, communication self-efficacy, organisation self-efficacy, differentiation self-efficacy, and reactive/generative self-efficacy – may be of differential importance in predicting internet anxiety within web-assisted learning environments. Two hundred and eighty-nine undergraduate students enrolled in a blog-centric general education course on child development at a large mid-western university in the United States participated in this study. Based on inferences drawn from the socio-cognitive perspective and cognitive load theory, it was hypothesised that in a blog-centric constructivist learning environment, reactive/generative self-efficacy or the belief in one’s ability to react meaningfully to others’ posts and generate educationally valuable posts, would emerge as a unique predictor of internet anxiety after controlling for all of the other facets of internet self-efficacy. The results of a two-step hierarchical regression indicated that both reactive/generative self-efficacy and search self-efficacy are unique predictors of internet anxiety. The findings have several implications for researchers seeking greater insight into the relationship between internet self-efficacy and internet anxiety as well as instructors seeking to create a constructivist learning environment utilising the potential of the web.