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Running head: GENDER DIFFERENCES IN SOCIAL NETWORKING
Gender Differences in Social Networking
Maddie Lockridge
University of Kentucky
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Abstract
Everyday the world is being filled with more and more technology and social networking sites.
No longer are relationships begun and maintained through face-to-face contact. Research has
shown that these social networking sites are being used by males and females in different ways
and are affecting males and females dissimilarly. This literature review will incorporate several
studies and research done in the field of social networking communication. It will explore into
the areas of presentation, creation of self/identity, self-disclosure, anxiety caused by
communication on social networking sites, and positive feedback all while focusing on the
gender differences within these categories. One major theme I have found that is highlighted
across all of these areas is that many of the gender norms typically associated with face-to-face
communication are also reflected in social networking. Another theme found in all of this
research is simply that women are overall better communicators than men.
Keywords: social networking communication, gender differences, gender norms
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Gender Differences in Social Networking
The medium through which our world communicates is changing. Face-to-face
communication is becoming increasingly rare. Social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter,
MySpace and Instagram are the new way to keep in touch with others. As our world of
communication changes, it makes us pause and ponder the implications of this change. Is this
new form of communication more suited to one gender? Studies have shown that women are
better at using facial and vocal cues in communication and when these are not viewable on social
networking sites like they are in face-to-face communication, they can find it difficult to read the
meaning and tone of what another person is saying (Thompson & Lougheed 2012). Men on the
other hand seem to be less stressed by social networking sites (Thompson & Lougheed 2012).
Interestingly, women have been found to spend more time on these social networking sites than
men (Haferkamp et al, 2012, Thompson & Lougheed 2012).
Many aspects of gender norms are reflected in social networking communication. For
instance, women use social networking sites to compare themselves to others and are dependent
on others for a sense of self (Haferkamp et al, 2012, Magnuson & Dundes, 2008). This can be
seen in women in face-to-face communication as well. We often hear women asking if another
girl is prettier than them or sexier than them. It is the same concept, just through a new outlet.
Women need reinforcement from others to know who they are. Women tend to use portrait
photographs for their profile picture because they want others to comment on their beauty
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(Haferkamp et al, 2012). This relates to what men look for in women. Who men are interested
in is often times based on physical attractiveness, so profile pictures are almost like a personal
advertisement. Women know that their self-worth is tied to others’ opinions, so they like to give
each other compliments. Women are much more likely to compliment others and have positive
interactions on social networking sites, but the amount of negative comments had no significant
difference between genders (Thelwall, Wilkinson, & Uppal, 2010). This finding shows that
women fit the mold that society has placed on them of being supportive and polite. Women are
typically considered the “emotional sex” and they are more likely to express emotion on social
networking sites (Magnuson & Dundes, 2008, Thelwall, Wilkinson, & Uppal, 2010). This
relates to the job world because women are much more likely to be in careers related to care
taking (Thelwall, Wilkinson, & Uppal, 2010).
Men want to be perceived as strong, powerful, high in social status, and independent
just like how society makes the “ideal male” out to be (Haferkamp et al, 2012, Magnuson &
Dundes, 2008, Taraszow et al, 2010). How do they give off this vibe? Men are less likely to
mention their girlfriend on social networking sites than a girl mentioning her boyfriend because
they don’t want to seem tied down. They like to hang tight to their feeling of independence
(Magnuson & Dundes, 2008). I think we have all seen those guys who post the stereotypical
“muscle” shots. This is how they show they are strong and powerful. Males are more likely to
put full body shots as their profile picture (Haferkamp et al, 2012). Men also want to seem high
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status because money is a major chick magnet these days.
Social networking sites encourage conformity to these gender norms (Haferkamp et al,
2012, Magnuson & Dundes, 2008). “Social portraits are displays of the self that are devised for
consumption by others. They are poses adopted that reveal conformity with prevailing codes of
masculinity and femininity.” (Magnuson & Dundes, 2008, 240). The quote summarizes this
point perfectly. The same gender norms are still there, just in a new form, so even though our
medium of communication is evolving, we unfortunately are not. This makes me scared for the
future because even though we may think we are changing, we are still in these stereotypical
roles that we are expected to play.
The next major theme found throughout the research done on social networking is that
overall women are stronger communicators. Women spend more time on social networking sites
because they are generally good communicators and enjoy communicating (Haferkamp et al,
2012, Thompson & Lougheed, 2012). Talking is a woman’s favorite activity! Women are more
interpersonally focused (Haferkamp et al, 2012, Thelwall, Wilkinson, & Uppal 2010). Women
use the Internet for connecting and talking to others (Haferkamp et al, 2012). In contrast, men
are more task-oriented when using the Internet rather than communicative (Haferkamp et al,
2012, Thelwall, Wilkinson, & Uppal, 2010). They use the Internet less for talking to others and
social networking, but more for research, news, etc. (Haferkamp et al, 2012). Women are
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especially better than men at face-to-face communication than men because they are more skilled
at noticing emotions, voice intonations, and facial differences (Thompson & Lougheed, 2010).
Although these are not present usually in social networking, it is still advantageous to be adept at
interpreting these things.
Limitations
There were some limitations on the research that has been conducted. The main issue
is with sample size. Many of the studies done have had a very small subject pool and in order to
really trust the findings, a larger group would be preferred. The study done by Magnuson and
Dundes was with 51 females, 49 males, all white, age 17 to 29 (2008). Although Magnuson and
Dundes found some interesting things, the study was limited to young white people. It cannot be
assumed that the findings are applicable to everyone. Thompson and Lougheed did a study on a
very specific group as well. The subjects were students from one specific college enrolled in
introductory health classes (2012). Taraszow et al’s study was also limiting because it was done
on 131 profiles of people age 14 to 29 (2010). Once again, the conclusions drawn can only be
applied to this age range. Another limitation was the site used for the study was less popular or
foreign and may not be as applicable to American people as those done on sites like Facebook.
The study done by Haferkamp et al for example was done on StudiVZ, which is basically the
German equivalent to Facebook (2012). These limitations do not mean we should disregard the
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findings of these researchers, but we should look at their conclusions with caution, as they are
not 100 percent proven for all people.
Conclusions and Future Study
The world of communication is changing, but then again, things are staying relatively
the same. Women are still communicating and sharing their feelings more than men, just
through a new outlet. Social norms of masculinity and femininity are remaining consistent.
Although social networking sites cause less stress and are easier for men to use, women are still
overall better communicators. At least women are able to pick up on cues in face-to-face
communication, unlike most men. The only reason women are less suited for social networking
sites is because women are good at reading people’s emotion, but men have become accustomed
to being oblivious to them. The studies that have been conducted do have some interesting
findings, but as I have previously said, more research must be done with larger numbers of
subjects to be able to trust the results. Now the question is how are things going to evolve from
here? Will we continue to incorporate technology into our communication process until we no
longer have any face-to-face communication? Are the females going to adapt to this new
process or will it cause too much stress for them to handle? Another area that would be
interesting to get research in is the differences between female/female communication,
male/male communication, and male/female communication on social networking sites to see if
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some of these findings hold true in those interactions. I find these gender dynamics very
interesting and investigating it through this new frame of social networking is even more
fascinating.
RQ1: Are there differences between female to female, male to male, and female to
male communication on social networking sites?
RQ2: As more and more social networking sites are becoming popular (i.e. Instagram,
Twitter, Pinterest, etc.) will this change the current themes found in social networking? Will the
themes be different depending on the site?
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Reference List
Haferkamp, N., Eimler, S. C., Papadakis, A., & Kruck, J. (2012). Men are from Mars, women are
from Venus? Examining gender differences in self-presentation on social networking
sites. Cyberpsychology, Behavior & Social Networking, 15(2), 91-98.
doi:10.1089/cyber.2011.0151
Magnuson, M., & Dundes, L. (2008). Gender differences in “social portraits” reflected in
MySpace profiles. Cyberpsychology & Behavior, 11(2), 239-241.
doi:10.1089/cpb.2007.0089
Taraszow, T., Aristodemou, E., Shitta, G., Laouris, Y., & Arsoy, A. (2010). Disclosure of
personal and contact information by young people in social networking sites: An
analysis using Facebook™ profiles as an example. International Journal Of Media &
Cultural Politics, 6(1), 81-101. doi:10.1386/macp.6.1.81/1
Thelwall, M., Wilkinson, D., Uppal, S. (2010). Data mining emotion in social network
communication: gender differences in Myspace. Journal Of American Society For
Information Science And Technology, 61(1), 190-199. doi:10.1002/asi.21180
Thompson, S. H., & Lougheed, E. (2012). Frazzled by Facebook? An exploratory study
of gender differences in social network communication among undergraduate
men and women. College Student Journal, 46(1), 88-98.