Exploring the Digital Divide
in MP3 Players
Chris Kirk
Andrea Leewong
Jefferson Pestronk
Advisor: J. Cooper
May 5, 2005
Introduction
Primary question: does the digital divide
extend to computer peripherals?
We tested this question using portable
MP3 players as the peripheral
Secondary question: are there
preferential differences between males
and females that contribute to the
divide?
Motivation
Extension of Cooper and Weaver (2003)
studies on gender and computers
Real-world applications/consequences


Education
Business
Ubiquity of MP3 players raises question
of design with respect to gender
preferences
Hypotheses
A gender gap persists but will be less
pronounced
Male and female feature preferences for MP3
players will be different
Preferences will be different, across gender
and within gender, between owners and nonowners of MP3 players
There will be a “comfort level divide” between
males and females as well as between
owners and non-owners
Methodology
Written survey
40 participants

22 males, 18 females
Ratings and rankings of past and future
MP3 player purchase decisions
Ratings of comfort with MP3 players,
MP3 software, and computers
Male/Female Divide
Gender gap not statistically significant
in MP3 player ownership

83% female, 64% male
Significant gap in computer comfort
level corroborates Cooper, et al.
Few significant preference differences


Females valued appearance, size/weight
Males valued price
Owner/Non-Owner Divide
No significant difference in computer comfort
level
Significant difference in MP3 and associated
software comfort level
Several significant preference differences


Non-owners valued price above other factors
Owners valued price and other factors equally
Significant difference in comfort levels between
male owners and non-owners
Conclusions
Evidence of computer digital divide, but no
such divide in computer peripherals (MP3
players)
Some evidence of preference difference
between genders

But MP3 players appeal to both genders due to
diverse feature set
Little cause for concern that peripheral digital
divide will affect education or purchase
decisions