Give Up Boys, We’re Outnumbered!
04/15/2007, 1 year 4 months ago
Are there more women online in America or are there more men? I bet your natural inclination would be to say men. Well, according to a study released recently women out number men by about ten percent.
According to eMarketer about 97 million women use the Internet in The U.S., while male users number roughly 91 million. One of the reasons for the disparity are the activities available on the Web. According to the study there are more female oriented activities than there are male activities.
An article by Glen Chapman of AFP/Yahoo! labels women as the supreme communicators, and claims the Internet allows women more flexibility to exercise their skills in communication. Debra Aho Williamson, author of "Women Online", reported that women and girls make up the majority of users on popular social networking website MySpace. Interestingly, women only make up about 45 percent of the video sharing sites like Youtube.
Williamson told AFP that social networking in general is really big with women, and that young women interested in meeting people and talking with friends are at home in this venue. The disparity between social networking and video attendance between men and women is partially attributed to men adapting to new technologies faster and having greater broadband access as for the video disparity.
My observations mirror some of this data in that men tend to watch video, play games and perform hi-tech operations slightly more, while women are much more task oriented and prefer not to use the Web as a simple diversion. Women who play games online prefer more causal activities, while men tend to like action games and shooters.
Before reading the data I would have bet there are more men on the Web, I guess Web women are not near as loud as we men are? The data makes sense when brought to light in this way. Many of my female friends really do interact in communicative activities. My buds, on the other hand are just as apt to be shooting at you from the other end of some story board.
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Men also seem to (at least it’s been my experience) dominate fantasy sports leagues. I’m usually the only woman in any leagues I join.
Hi Janet!
I am sure there are male and female oriented activities in every realm. This is not something we should try to overly differentiate but rather enjoy. Being slightly different is what makes us special I think.
As an aside, many of the females I have seen in gaming situations are very very skilled. The same is very true for men in areas where communication is critical. A predisposition does not preclude excellence.
Thanks for your insight and input Janet
I know that there are more women than men, but also on the internet?
that’s a news that i never expected to read 