Internet Altering Indian Households (PDF)

Technological advancement is helping mankind to live a better life. Internet being one of the best examples of technological advancement is a boon to society. The present research aimed to study the extent of internet usage by married women of Vadodara city for performing their household responsibilities. The sample of the study was selected through purposive and snowball techniques. However, the data was collected through both qualitative and quantitative methods. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the quantitative data whereas an interview schedule was used to collect qualitative data. The data were analyzed using different statistical measures viz ANOVA, Postdoc, Intensity Indices.

The findings of the study also revealed that the internet was used to a moderate extent by married women for performing their household responsibilities. Internet usage for household responsibilities was high for socializing and entertainment related household responsibilities whereas it was moderate for kitchen management and child care management related household responsibilities. There were significant differences in usage of internet for overall household responsibilities performed by married women in relation with their age, years of marriage, type of internet user, and experience of using the internet. Married women who were- younger mothers, recently married, heavy internet user, had a single child and good experiences of using internet showed high usage of internet for performing household responsibilities. The findings also indicated that married women had overall fair experiences while using the internet. A higher percentage of married women (37.50%) did not face any problem while using the internet. A little less than forty percent (39.40%) of them faced more personal problems whereas little more than one third (35.69%) of them faced more technical problems. The qualitative findings also reflected the use of the internet by married women for kitchen management, childcare, finance management and socialization and entertainment related household responsibilities. Married women suggested to have a training session on the effective use of the internet for performing household responsibilities. The findings of the study highlighted the varied use of the internet for the performance of household responsibilities.