Does Blogging Empower Women? Exploring the Role of Agency and Community

Abstract

Two studies explored the relationship between blogging and psychological empowerment among women. First, a survey (N = 340) revealed that personal journaling empowers users by inducing a strong sense of community whereas filter blogging does so by enhancing their sense of agency. Various user motivations were also shown to predict psychological empowerment. Next, a 2 (type of blog) X 2 (comments) X 2 (site visits) factorial experiment (N = 214) found that 2 site metrics-the number of site visits and number of comments-affect psychological empowerment through distinct mechanisms-the former through the sense of agency and the latter through the sense of community. These metrics are differentially motivating for bloggers depending on the type of blog maintained: filter or personal.Key words: blog, psychological empowerment, agency, community, site visits, comments, social media doi:10.1111/j. 1083-6101.2012.01587.x Unlike past trends in gender digital divides (with males making up the majority of new technology users), it appears that, when it comes to blogging, women are more likely than men to create blogs (Jones, Johnson-Yale, Willermeier & Pérez, 2009) and less likely than men to abandon them (Henning, 2003). In fact, a study by BlogHer/Compass Partners revealed that women are so passionate about blogging that many would give up other technologies in order to keep blogging, with some willing to sacrifice almost anything but chocolate (Wright, 2008).This evident appeal of blogging for women is particularly noteworthy given the common rhetoric surrounding its potential for empowerment (Blood, 2002;Herring, Scheidt, Bonus, & Wright, 2004). But do blogs really empower women? This question is an important one to address in light of recent evidence for the gendered nature of the blogosphere (e.g., Harp & Tremayne, 2006). Despite the fact that women both outnumber and outlast male bloggers, these reports suggest that males are far more prominent in the blogosphere. Determining whether blogging is empowering for women is crucial to understanding their notable absence among the top-rated, or ''A-list, '' bloggers (Harp & Tremayne, 2006). To shed light on this issue, the present investigation focuses exclusively on the female blogger population. This restricted focus is further inspired by recent scholarship in human-computer interaction (HCI), calling for research that examines the uses and effects of communication technologies for female users (Bardzell, 2010), in order to inform interface design that better serves women's needs. 369We respond to such calls by asking a fundamental question: If blogging proves empowering for women, what mechanisms might explain this outcome? Drawing from theories in communication as well as social and community psychology, we propose two possible theoretical mechanisms. On the one hand, female bloggers may derive a strong sense of agency, i.e., the feeling that they have a competent, confident, and assertive voice. On the other hand, they may derive a deep sense of community. It co...

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“…With this in mind, please imagine what types of outcomes these activities (that is, posting or replying) might have for you. Then, indicate the degree to which each of the following statements describes the outcomes of your posting/replying activity (Kim & Sundar, 2011;Stavrositu & Sundar, 2012) (Strongly Disagree = 1; Strongly Agree = 9) (Sense of Agency) I have control over my own voice I assert myself I have a distinct voice (Sense of Community) I feel at home in this message board I care about what readers think of my views and actions It may well become very important to me to interact with others through this message board People posting and replying to this message board will not get along with each other (Reversed-coded) I expect to interact a lot with others through this message board I expect to receive support from other users on the message board I expect that some of the users of this message board will be friends with each other I expect to have friends among those who are users of this community website I expect that some users in this community website can be counted on to help others I might feel obligated to help others through this message (continued on next page) board I think I will like users on this message board I feel other users on this message board will mean a lot to me…”

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