The effects of religiosity on Internet consumption

Abstract

The relationship between technology adoption and religion has received scant research attention. The complicated process of Internet use among contemporary religious people is affected by the tension between technological developments and religious beliefs. The current research aims to explore the effects of religiosity on Internet consumption in a newly industrialized Muslim country, Turkey. The study utilized a cross-sectional design based on data from 2,698 subjects, selected by stratified random sampling, covering all 12 regions of the country. By offering an exploratory approach, this study sheds light on how various interpretations of religion enable culture-specific observations on Internet consumption patterns, and its relation with different levels of religiosity. The findings revealed that the level of religiosity has a significant effect on the patterns of Internet consumption.

Keywords:

• Internet use
• social media
• religion
• religiosity

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Ozlem Hesapci Sanaktekin

Ozlem Hesapci Sanaktekin is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at the Management Department of Bogazici University.

Yonca Aslanbay

Yonca Aslanbay is a Professor of Marketing at the Advertising Department of Istanbul Bilgi University.

Sahika Gorgulu

Sahika Gorgulu is a PhD student at Galatasaray University and a graduate teaching assistant at the Advertising Department of Istanbul Bilgi University.