According to Pew Research Center's Internet and American Life Project, 5 percent of Americans used social media sites in February of 2005. Currently, in the year 2011, 65 percent of American's are using these sites, Facebook and Twitter being among some of the most popular. That's only 6 years.
Within this 65 percent, "young women are leading the way," CNN reports in their article from August 26. A recent Pew survey discovered that 69 percent of women who are online are using social media on a regular basis, versus 60 percent of men.
Why?
According to Gina Chen via the Nieman Journalism Lab, women want to connect and build relationships, which results in their increased use of social media.
Chen says, "What do I do with my girlfriends? I sit around and chat, talk about life, build relationships. What does my husband do with his guy friends? They play golf or tennis or poker or volleyball. What is social media all about? Virtually sitting around and chatting, talking about life and building relationships." http://www.niemanlab.org/2009/10/women-use-social-media-more-than-men-whats-news-orgs-response/
I think these statistics are interesting, along with the feelings people show towards social media. When asked to describe their experiences in social media, social-media users eloquently responded with words like, "good" and a few other variances from that, including "fun" and "OK". For people that spend hours on Facebook and Twitter, communicating with others and spilling their thoughts, opinions and problems all over walls and feeds of friends, coworkers, and family, don't you think we could come up with something a little better than "good?"
http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/social.media/08/26/women.social.networks/index.html
http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Social-Networking-Sites.aspx
http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2011/Social-Networking-Sites/~/media/Infographics/Report%20Infographics/2011/22%20-%20SNS%20Update/Wordle%20-%20SNS%20Responses.jpg
Anna,
ReplyDeleteYou know, for some reason, this article and the stats behind it do not surprise me. In many of my communication classes, we discuss the difference between men and women (a topic debated for the past centuries). Men want interaction on an active level (as you mentioned with golf, tennis, running, construction, etc). They are doing something physical that then provides them time to think. Women, on the other hand, are social. That is their nature. In class, who speaks up more: the women. They have a habit of discussing all aspects of their lives. Facebook provides another platform for this type of interaction. If a woman has the chance to talk, they will. Talking shows affection (creates an emotional connection). Facebook has not become a new social highway.
Great post!
Kyle
Anna,
ReplyDeleteWomen are very social creatures. Facebook and Twitter are two social media sites that allow women to communicate with each other. The word "good" to describe these tools does not seem accurate. I wonder if "good" is the term these women used is because computers seem impersonal sometimes. Social creatures like to interact with each other personally and face to face. Brief postings and messages do not always meet these personal interactions required. Just a thought from a female who enjoys conversing face to face.
Good ideas shared!
Valerie
The statistics are unreal Anna! It is amazing to see how much social media has soared over the years. I also read the article about women using social media way more than men. At first it alarmed me, but after reading your blog about how they want to build relationships I totally understand now. It makes much more sense and it will be interesting to see how social media continues to rise; not only for the women, but for the men as well!
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ReplyDeleteHm, that is very interesting. I never would have thought of that, but it is so true! Even when wastching groups of people, the females are usually chatting while the men are doing activities. In fact, I read about this once, it was a book that talked about children's books in the early 1980's and how the pictures showed boys as doing activities and the girls as watching the activities. Regardless, women do tend to want to build that relationship, and new new media has given them another opportunity to do this. I am curious, though, if this trend will change men's social habits in the generations to come. That is, to internalize more of the relationship building into their wiring.
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