by Stephanie Bruzzese

More Females than Males Use the Internet

news
Apr 16, 20071 min

It’s not exactly a mobile-tech topic, but being that I’m one of InfoWorld’s only female bloggers, I couldn’t resist.

Several major research firms are reporting that when it comes to the total number of U.S. web surfers in 2007, females will edge out males, 51.7 percent to 48.3 percent. But as with all surveys, you have to read between the lines to get a sense of what’s really being measured here: many of these firms take into account the Internet habits of females and males as young as two years old.

In another disheartening qualifier, it appears that more and more females are NOT flocking to the web to learn about rocket science–at least if you believe the comments of one eMarketer (female) analyst, who states that ‘the rise of activities that are particularly appealing to young females, such as social networking, will result in even greater usage.’ Ouch.

Firms that stick strictly to adults are still finding that about 3-6 percent more men surf the web than women.