Women Now Outnumber Men Online

miller60 writes "There are now more American women than men using the Internet, according to a new study from the Pew Center on the Internet and American Life on gender and use of the Net. While a slightly larger percentage of men than women are online (68 percent vs 66 percent), the larger population of American women tips the balance. Other findings: younger women and black women outpace their male peers by larger margins than the wider population."

Comments

But they use the net differently

[shreevatsa]

What the summary doesn't point out is that women and men seem to view the internet differently.

the research found that men value the net for the freedom it gives them to try new ways of doing things. By contrast women like the opportunities the net gives them to make and maintain human connections.

(Look at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4555370.stm. )

However, I have my own doubts about correct this research is --

The Pew report also found that men are more likely to use the net to get at all kinds of information about sports results, weather, news, job offers and consumer ratings for goods and services. Men were also more likely to use the net for recreation and to listen to music, gather information for hobbies and take part in online fantasy sports leagues.

All that is fine, but any research that doesn't mention porn must be flawed ;)

Re:But they use the net differently

[argStyopa]

All that is fine, but any research that doesn't mention porn must be flawed ;)
Your last comment was meant, I suppose, to be tongue in cheek. I don't think it's wrong, however. Anyone who has 'existed' online since the early days of the WWW *knows* that pr0n has not only been endemic to the 'net experience' but has in fact driven many of its key technologies - audio, then video streaming for example.

I understand that many people are squeamish about the subject, but if we're making a serious survey of net use, you're right - to entirely OMIT pr0n as a subject leaves an, er, gaping hole in the data.

It would be practically like a survey of automobile use without referring to commuting.

Re:They surveyed ~0.0023% of the population!

[Guus.der.Kinderen]

Even 0.0023% of the population can give a surveyor an accurate result. It all depends on the way the population was sampled. Sampling can be a science in itself though. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampling_(statistics)

We needed a study to prove this?

[HikingStick]

I don't intend this as a flame, but give me a break. In nearly every area of life women differ from men. This is not a bad thing (I can't imagine being married to someone like me!), but it flies in the face of a segment of society that wants to believe that all gender differences are learned behavior and have no basis in genetics (nurture over nature).

Anyone who has both sons and daughters knows they are different, no matter how hard you try to androgenize them.

We need to get over ourselves and realize that difference does not equate to inferiority.