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Women Now Outnumber Men Online

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the hello-ladies dept.

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."

15 of 255 comments (clear)

  1. It's true! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Just write word 'sex' to google, and you can see by the links women outnumbering men easily.

  2. Bitter Experience by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Oh sure, they say they're women.

  3. Not Quite by LiquidCoooled · · Score: 5, Funny

    This is the internet, the place where women are women, and some men are women too.

    --
    liqbase :: faster than paper
    1. Re:Not Quite by doubtless · · Score: 5, Funny

      and little 15 year old girls are FBI agents.

      --
      geek page at KY speaks
  4. But they use the net differently by shreevatsa · · Score: 5, Insightful
    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 ;)
    1. Re:But they use the net differently by dheltzel · · Score: 5, Funny
      All that is fine, but any research that doesn't mention porn must be flawed ;)

      Umm, what part of "Men were also more likely to use the net for recreation" didn't you understand?

    2. Re:But they use the net differently by argStyopa · · Score: 5, Insightful

      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.

      --
      -Styopa
  5. Re:They surveyed ~0.0023% of the population! by Guus.der.Kinderen · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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)

  6. I already knew that! See... by Hitto · · Score: 5, Funny

    There are *billions* of women on the internet.
    The catch is, their names all end in .jpg ...

    1. Re:I already knew that! See... by tuomasr · · Score: 5, Funny

      The catch is, their names all end in .jpg ...

      No way! That's where you're wrong, I've met a lot of nice women on the internet whose name didn't end in .jpg. Let's see, there was Ms. Mpg, Ms. Png, Ms. Avi and so forth.

      They must've been poor though, all wanted my credit card number, but of course I feel bad for them since they apparently couldn't even afford clothes...

    2. Re:I already knew that! See... by Zwets · · Score: 5, Funny

      Hey, I come from a proud line of .JPGs you insensitive clod! I resent your insinuations regarding the virtues of the women in my family!

      Our family name dates all the way back to 17th century Dutch merchants. Originally we were called "Punt-Jan-Pieters' Grootvaeder" ("Dot-Jan-Pieters' Grandfather", in a mysterious reversal of the normal practice of naming people "so-and-so's son or daughter")). It later got shortened to .JPG by a lazy government administrator.

      Sincerely,

      Hendrik Olivier Thomas .JPG

      --
      One of the lessons of history is that nothing is often a good thing to do and always a clever thing to say. - Will Duran
  7. Using the Internet Differently by StonePiano · · Score: 5, Informative

    Check this BBC article.
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4555370.stm
    Apparently men and women use the Internet for different priorities.

    Could this suggest that there is actually a difference in the genders?
    The mystery thickens...

  8. The best predictor is having kids. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    The least likely to go on line were young and single. The most likely to go on line were married people with children. So: if you aren't tied down, there are better things to do with your life than going on the internet. Once you are tied down then the internet is a viable alternative to having a life.

  9. Newsflash! by jcr · · Score: 5, Funny

    For instance, it says that 21% of males visited adult websites

    79% of men are liars!

    -jcr

    --
    The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
  10. We needed a study to prove this? by HikingStick · · Score: 5, Insightful

    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.

    --
    I use irony whenever I can, but my shirts are still wrinkled...