The digital habitus of the unwedded emerging adults: a sociological interpretation of male-female differences in Facebook behavior
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/GKMC-04-2021-0075 |
| Published date | 18 October 2021 |
| Date | 18 October 2021 |
| Pages | 24-43 |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Information behaviour & retrieval,Information in society,Information literacy,Library & information services |
| Author | Muhammad Rehan Masoom |
The digital habitus of the
unwedded emerging adults: a
sociological interpretation of
male-female differences in
Facebook behavior
Muhammad Rehan Masoom
School of Business and Economics, United International University,
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Abstract
Purpose –By considering Facebook as a social contextof manifesting digital habitus, this paper aims to
explore the differences betweenmen and women in the compensatory use of Facebook, theirengagement in
crafting and exhibiting virtual self-representation, and addictive traits associated with it. It is argued that
while Facebook compensates for the negative consequences of real-world experiences by allowing users,
particularly women to display an ideal self or a true virtual self and so aid in socializing, users eventually
developan addiction,which results in various social difficulties.
Design/methodology/approach –The study surveyed 511 male and 413 female undergraduate
students who were between 19 to 26 years of age and reported being unmarried. Psycho-Social Aspects of
Facebook Use Scale was usedto solicit the responses. The factors were quantified by the items selectedfrom
the scale, and confirmatoryfactor analysis was used to assess the construct validity and reliabilityof items to
check the usability of the scale in cross-culturalcontexts. The Independent Samples t-test was used to check
whetherstatistical evidence exists that the relatedsample means of men and women vary significantly.
Findings –While there is no differencein virtualizing the self by gender; women perceive Facebookas more
compensating than men. Likewise, compared with men, women are found to be more self-presenting, more
addictive and highly involved in socializing. The item-wise differences show that Facebook comparatively
enhancesthe self-esteem of the women and women are moreadventurous than men in Facebook interaction.
Originality/value –The study arguesthat there is a strong connection betweenthe digital habitus and the
social world. Social values and conditioning constrain people’s intention of being in the digital world and
reflect their intention and decisions. Overall, the study is the most elaborative quantitative examination of
how men and women differin their Facebookbehavior.
Keywords Bangladesh, Gender differences, Digital habitus, Facebook behavior,
Post-industrial society, Structural equation model
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Digital habitus is the embodiment of attitudes and dispositions of the interactions by the
people in the digital world;it symbolizes a set of behavioral expectations embodied in digital
culture (Papacharissi and Easton, 2013). Digital Habitus manifests the effects of online
interaction on the socially ingrainedhabits, skills and disposition of internet users (Marwick
and Boyd, 2011). It conditions the social cognition of the people in the digital context
(Gambetti, 2020). Therefore, digital habitus influences what ideas, values and thoughts are
to be internalized in the digital world (Romele and Rodighiero, 2020). It is not merely the
GKMC
72,1/2
24
Received24 April 2021
Revised5 July 2021
10August 2021
Accepted10 September 2021
GlobalKnowledge, Memory and
Communication
Vol.72 No. 1/2, 2023
pp. 24-43
© Emerald Publishing Limited
2514-9342
DOI 10.1108/GKMC-04-2021-0075
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/2514-9342.htm
internalization ofan intense, ongoing engagement with digital technologiesbut also is about
living in the digital world (Richardson,2015). Digital technology has caused some dramatic
shifts and profound social transformations, including cybersecurity, surveillance, cyber-
crime, global learning, internationalgovernance, consumer profiling and privacy violations
(Bell, 2018). The proliferation of Web 2.0 allows exchanging a wide range of content,
whether text, audio or video and democratizes interacting and networking with people
(Cormode and Krishnamurthy, 2008). Nonetheless, the digital world is not some separate
universe parallel to real-life but an inseparable part of reality interlaced with friendships,
relationships, education, hobbies and a range of political, as well as economic activities
(Bodroža and Jovanovi
c, 2016). The external social structure where the citizens of the
internet or netizens need to live and require responding to their immediate social structure
affects the internalizationof digital habitus. The elements of social structure, such as family,
religion, education, economy, politics and health, shape netizens’thoughts, tastes, beliefs
and interests (Bourdieu,1990). When people logged into the digital world, particularly social
media, they bring a range of social norms, values and expectations with them and try to
adapt and fit in there (Harper et al.,2013). Recognizing, knowing and negotiating the digital
habitus has become a significant social act for netizens, particularly for emerging adults,
who are from 19 to 26 years of age.
Any medium is a symbolic structure of human interaction, and it becomes social when
people use it in social ways (Trevino et al.,1987). Social media, such as Facebook, extends
people’s senses by which they experience their existing social worlds and notice the social
phenomenon (McLuhan and Fiore, 1967). People have to play a range of roles according to
their social statusesin society, and those status set remain when they logged into thedigital
world; they cannot let their habit influence their virtual actions to a very high degree (Jin,
2015). Therefore,the digital habitus, to a greater extent, is shaped by the social world.People
who have the same social reality around them construct the same digital habitus that fits
them in their digital world(Güzel, 2016). Most times, the digital habitus is constructed by the
same social network and offers the same social benefits, as well as producesthe same social
constraints (Güzel,2016). Hence, there is a strong connection between thedigital habitus and
the social world. Social values and conditioning constraints their intention of being in the
digital world and reflects their intention and decisions (Valkenburg and Peter, 2008). For
instance, if a particular society shapes the thought in a way that a female should always
require seeking the attention of others and get married before she has finished her tertiary
level education, the digital habitus of the people of that society will incorporate the same
norms and intentions. This makes digital habitus an objective reality, not merely a
subjective representationof self. When people are subjective, they are open to choosefrom a
lot of options; however, when thereis an objective reality, they are required to do something
in a certain way to hold the affirmative status (Berger et al.,1972). The assertion given here
is indicating digital habitus as not an unchanging fixed structure rather, it is adapted by
individuals who are constantly changing according to the situations to construct it.
Therefore, the digital world is constructed and changes according to the demands in the
social world. People act reasonablyand there is the logic of practice in what people do; thus
people are not always conscious of habitus,but it manifests in most of their daily practices
(Bourdieu, 1990).
On Facebook, men and women present a fragment of their social beings by corresponding
to the symbolic management of themselves. Hence, their presentation of self (cf. Goffman,
1959) is structured by the obligations definedbycustomsandsocialexpectations
(cf. Durkheim, 1982). Society, which is the sum of structured social relationships, prioritizes a
set of social behaviors over other sets of activities and extends its presence on social media.
Facebook
behavior
25
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