1. Exploring the Digital Divide in MP3 Players Chris Kirk Andrea Leewong Jefferson Pestronk Advisor: J. Cooper May 5, 2005

2. 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?

3. 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

4. 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 non- owners of MP3 players There will be a “comfort level divide” between males and females as well as between owners and non-owners

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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