## 1 Introduction
### Digital Divide and Digital Inequality  
Generally, research on ICTs has progressed from an interest in acquisition of hardware to an interest in how hardware is being used. The understanding that some people in society had access to computers and the internet while others did not was termed the digital divide. As more people began to have access to computers, internet, and now cell phones, the focus moved to the \"second digital divide\" [4] or digital inequality perspective [5]. While the focus has shifted from access (digital divide) to usage (digital inequality), the basic claim that there are haves and have nuts has not changed. With respect to both access and usage, studies within the United States [6, 7, 8, 9] have consistently shown that people who are lower income, less educated, and minorities are on the wrong side of the divide.  
While income and education are arguably the two most significant indicators of who is a have or have not, other factors also determine internet activity. Gender differences have been found to be significant. [PERSON] (2008) found that boys in high school were significantly more likely to use the internet than their female counterparts [9]. Further, [PERSON] _et al_. (1997) report lower use of instructional technologies for women than men within a higher education faculty [10]. In computer-mediated communication technologies such as chat rooms and e-mails, the types of written content are structured by gender [11, 12]. [PERSON] and [PERSON] (2003) reported that men use the internet more intensely than women, although the gap between users and non-users has disappeared [13]. [PERSON] _et al_. (2001) assert that gender differences revolved around types of usage, with women communicating online and men searching for information online [14]. Age is also a significant factor, and younger people are more frequent internet users than are older people [15, 16, 17].  
In an early study of internet access and use in Switzerland between 1997 and 2000, [PERSON] (2002) found differences in access to the internet based on education, income, age and sex. Education had the strongest effect, followed by income, with lesser effects for age and sex. These particular findings are generally similar to findings on internet access and use in the US. [PERSON] concludes that the typical Swiss user of the internet is a well educated, affluent young male. Importantly, these gaps in access increased during the period of the study. [PERSON] also found differences in internet usage based on educational attainment, gender and age. More highly educated people used the internet for information and instrumental purposes, while people with less education used the internet more for entertainment. Men were more interested in search engine features, accessing information from online papers and e-banking than were women. Compared to older people, younger people were more interested in chatting, games and music on the internet. Most importantly, [PERSON] suggests that we lack understanding of the digital divide because research has not examined how people use the internet, and how the use of the internet is shaped by and embedded within the social construct [18].