Personality, cognitive style, demographic characteristics and Internet use - Findings from the HomeNetToo project

Relationships between personality, cognitive style and Internet use were examined in a longitudinal field study. Participants were low-income African American and European American adults residing in a mid-size urban community in the United States whose Internet use was automatically and continuously recorded for 6 months. Results indicated that extraversion and neuroticism were related to Internet use, but only during the first 3 months of home Internet access. Preferences for global/relational and visual processing, and for abstract conceptualization were weakly related to Internet use at both time intervals. Strongest were relationships between race and Internet use and, to a lesser extent, between education, marital status, and Internet use. The importance of additional research to identify personal and cultural characteristics that may influence and sustain Internet use is discussed.