Women rule the Net
p2p news / p2pnet: In the US, women rule online.
So says the latest Pew Internet & American Life survey taken between March 2000 and September 2005. And young women are more likely to surf than young men, it says.
It also states, "black women have surged online in the last three years" without offering similar findings for yellow, pink, purple or blue women.
In general, "Women are catching up to men in most measures of online life," says the report. "Men like the internet for the experiences it offers, while women like it for the human connections it promotes."
The survey says between statistics compiled between January and June, 2005, show 67% of the adult American population goes online, including 68% of men and 66% of women but, "women slightly outnumber men in the Internet population because they make up a greater share of the overall U.S. population, and:
Younger women are more likely than younger men to be online; older men are more likely than older women to be online: 86 percent of women ages 18-29 are online, compared with 80 percent of men that age. On the other hand, 34 percent of men 65 and older use the Internet, compared with 21 percent of women that age.
Black women are more likely than are black men to be online: 60 percent of black women are Internet users compared with 50 percent of black men.
Unmarried men are more likely than unmarried women to be Internet users. 62 percent of unmarried men compared with 56 percent of unmarried women go online. Married women are slightly more likely than married men to be online. 75 percent of married women and 72 percent of married men go online.
Men without children under age 18 are more likely than women without children under age 18 to be online. Some 61 percent of childless men compared with 57 percent of childless women go online. Men and women with minor children are equally likely to be online. Some 81 percent of men with children and 80 percent of women with children go online.
However, although women rule, men are likely to be "slightly more engaged with their internet use than women" and on a typical day, "wired men are more likely than wired women to go online: 61% of men and 57% of women go online on a typical day. Also:
- Men go online more frequently than women. 44% of men go online at least several times a day, compared with 39% of women.
- Men are more likely than women to have high-speed connections at home. 52% of men and 48% of women have high-speed connections at home.
- Men and women are equally likely to access the internet from home. 89% of men and 87% of women use the internet at home.
- Men and women are equally likely to access the internet from work. Among internet users who work full-time or part-time, 65% of men and 66% of women use the internet at work.
And men and women are equally likely to go online for a wide variety of activities, from getting travel information to doing banking to looking up phone numbers and addresses, says Pew.
However, "Men go online in greater numbers than women for a vast, but scattered array of other activities. Women outpace men for a small number of activities, including the areas of health and medicine and religion."
And when it comes to communications, more women than men send and receive email, and they, "use it in a richer and more engaging way".
Women are more likely to use email friends and family about a variety of topics from sharing news and worries to planning events, and men and women both like email for its "efficiencies and convenience," although, "women are more likely to feel satisfied with the role of email in their lives, especially when it comes to nurturing their relationships".
Pew continues that in emailers’ working life, "women are more likely than men to value the positive effects of email for improving relationships, from expanding their circle of colleagues to encouraging teamwork. Women also value email for a kind of positive, water-cooler effect, which lightens the atmosphere of office life.
"Men are more likely than women to participate in a big variety of interest groups, like fan clubs or community groups. Men and women both engage with such groups for the hard facts and news they learn online. Women place a higher value than men on what email does for the relationships within the group."
Men look for information on a wider variety of topics and issues and after September 11, visited more web sites to find out about things that were happening. More women said the internet helped them find people they needed to reach.
"As vehicles for finding information, search engines are extremely popular among both men and women," says the study. "About 90% of men and women who go online use search engines, and about 40% use them on a typical day. Men and women generally use the same kinds of search strategies, using search engines most commonly, but also starting searches on familiar, proprietary websites or following recommended links.
"Although men and women say equally that they find the information online that they are looking for, men are a lot more confident in themselves as searchers, and they are less overwhelmed by the glut of information that’s out there."
And men use the web for more kinds of entertainment and recreation than women, "with just a few exceptions". Women play games as much as men, they listen to audio clips and watch video clips, and they share files. But men pursue a host of other activities with greater enthusiasm."
Also See:
Pew – How Women and Men Use the Internet, December 28, 2005
