'Women tweet like Venus, men like Mars'

MANILA, Philippines - Not to hype the gender wars all over again, but even in the digital age, the difference between men and women is obvious.

Digital media intelligence provider ComScore highlighted the glaring difference in the way men and women use the digital media space in its July 28 report entitled “Women on the Web: How Women are Shaping the Internet.”

The report found, among other things, that “social networking sites reach a higher percentage of women than men globally, with 75.8 percent of all women online visiting a social networking site in May 2010 versus 69.7 percent of men.”

Going by the divide that shaped gender relations in the last hundred years or so, it’s only the tip of the iceberg.

“Understanding gender-specific differences in Web usage is valuable to any digital stakeholder looking to successfully reach and engage both women and men in the online environment,” Linda Boland Abraham, ComScore chief marketing officer and executive vice president for global development, said in the release.

Marketers, advertisers and content providers must indeed take heed. This is nothing new. John Gray’s “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus: The Classic Guide to Understanding the Opposite Sex” has said it before: “without awareness that we are supposed to be different, men and women are at odds with each other.”

Social networking

According to ComScore, women spend 30 percent more time on social networking sites than men.

“Women spend significantly more time on social networking sites than men, with women averaging 5.5 hours per month compared to men’s four hours, demonstrating the strong engagement that women across the globe share with social sites,” it said.

“Although women account for 47.9 percent of total unique visitors to the social networking category, they consume 57 percent of pages and account for nearly 57 percent of total minutes spent on these sites,” it added.

The rise of social networking, explained ComScore, has prompted women of all ages to engage in a host of associated online activities, such as photo-sharing, gaming, video viewing, and instant messaging.

Admittedly though, women are still slightly in the minority as a percentage of global Internet users.

“But they are catching up quickly,” said ComScore, adding that the differences are most stark in developing countries where Internet penetration is still low. However, once online, women are more connected than men. And even when their online behavior is similar, motivations can differ widely between the two genders.

“The adoption of Twitter is a great example — both genders adopted this technology at similar rates, but for different purposes,” ComScore said. “Men are far more likely to post their own tweets than women. Meanwhile, a larger percentage of female Twitter users say they use the site to find deals and promotions. Women are also more likely to use the service as a conversation medium and to follow celebrities.”

Online purchase

Another key finding is that at least in the US, women are more avid online buyers than men, with 12.5 percent of female Internet users making an online purchase in February 2010, compared to 9.3 percent of men.

Yes, the “divas” are driving the dollars, according to ComScore. “Women are the key drivers of online buying. More women than men transact on the Internet and, collectively, they spend more,” it said in the report.

Women also tend to shop more online, which is not really a surprise. However, ComScore said how and where they shop, as well as what they buy, is notably different than men.

How about the men? In their defense, men consume more video and show more of a propensity for YouTube.

On average, men conduct more searches per searcher than women (71.6 searches per searcher for men versus 64.0 for women).

Smartphone usage

Smartphone usage is also dominated by men. “In the US, we see a fairly consistent 60/40 split, but in Europe the skew toward male users is slightly more pronounced, hovering around 63 versus 37 percent,” ComScore said, adding a possible explanation: “Men are early adopters in the technology space... men also tend to be higher earners than women, thus affording them the ability to purchase a costly smartphone and pay for a monthly data plan.”

Men also outshop women in categories as computer hardware/software, electronics, sports/outdoor, and music (to a lesser degree). However, ComScore emphasized that outside of these categories, women lead.

It is interesting to note, according to the report, that men’s interest in the offline world are unsurprisingly also their interests online. However, women are not really far behind in visiting sports sites though they are said to be less engaged.

Gaming landscape

Adult, gambling and gaming sites are also getting their fair share of visits from women. “While not to the same degree as men, a significant percentage of women view adult content,” said ComScore. “As for gambling, women demonstrate just as much interest as men though they are more likely to visit lotto/sweepstakes sites.”

The gaming landscape has lately given rise to casual gaming, which women take to. ComScore said women are much more likely to play casual games such as Solitaire, Sudoku and Scrabble and the games in social networking sites than action, adventure, and sports games favored by men.

Does it really make much difference if you’re a man or a woman on the Internet? Perhaps there are little and big differences in some areas. But this is what ComScore has to say: “Once women connect, they engage; once they engage, they embrace; once they embrace, they drive. And that’s the future. The Internet: it’s women’s work.”