Pew Internet Study Released: Gender usage online

Pew Internet Research has released their newest study on how Men and Women compare in their online usage. Although overall, women still lag behind (only 2%), young women outnumber young men in just going online. Men tend to have better connections (which may explain why downloading video and music is lower for women), but women use the various communication tools more voraciously. Most of the usage is pretty similarly matched, though:

...our data show that men and women are more similar than different in their online lives, starting with their common appreciation of the internet’s strongest suit: efficiency. Both men and women approach with gusto online transactions that simplify their lives by saving time on such mundane tasks as buying tickets or paying bills.

Men and women also value the internet for a second strength, as a gateway to limitless vaults of information. Men reach farther and wider for topics, from getting financial information to political news. Along the way, they work search engines more aggressively, using engines more often and with more confidence than women.

Surprisingly (or not?), married people with children are more likely to go online overall. Great study to bookmark. ;)

Update: some bonus reports from Pew

• Tracking Online Life: How Women Use the Internet to Cultivate Relationships with Family and Friends
• Online Communities: Networks that nurture long-distance relationships and local ties
• A decade of adoption: How the internet has woven itself into American life
  

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