Examining the “Male, Antisocial” Stereotype of High Computer Users

Abstract

The popular stereotype of the frequent computer user persists to be one of a male, socially inadequate and isolated individual—a perception which has been found to cause many students to avoid coming into contact with information and communications technology (ICT), both inside and outside of school. This article reports on a study examining the gender and social competency of both frequent and infrequent computer-using students in Year 12 ( n = 117). The results suggest that students who are highly oriented toward ICT are just as likely to be female as they are male and are no less sociable, popular, or self-assured than their non-ICT using peers. These data are then contrasted with interview data from the “high” and “low” using students which suggest that negative stereotyping of the computer-using student persists —although primarily among students not engaging with ICT in school. The article postulates that the vast increases in ICT use in schools over the last ten years has created a more accessible “computer culture” to which increasing numbers of students are now subscribing; although teachers need to be aware of the persistence of the male, anti-social stereotype within elements of the student body.