A crosspost from the technology and literacy listserv that is pertinent to the discussion here:

Some additional information about the different information consumption
habits based on gender is available from CNN:
http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/internet/12/29/internet.gender.reut/index.html 
It reports on a recent Pew Internet & American Life Project study about the
web habits of men and women. The study found that men are heavier users of
the internet tending to "log on more frequently and spend more time
online." In addition, it discusses some of the different content and
functions men and women tend to use, "men tend to be attracted to online
activities (music downloads, chat rooms, auctions) that are far more
action-oriented, while women tend to value things involving relationships
or human connections (e-mail for interpersonal communication and
connection, advice)."

How can we (should we?) use this type of information to inform the way we
engage adult literacy students in internet use? Should we think about
engaging our male and female students differently to tap what might be most
compeling for them? Do we need to try and close the gender gap in the type
of internet use between male and female students?

Best,
Mariann


>>> alcdgg at langate.gsu.edu 12/29/2005 5:28:50 PM >>>

I found an article online that describes a study reporting demographic differences and the Internet. I am wondering if you think that the results match what you see in your classrooms, centers, and libraries, or what you hear learners say. I also have a more general question for you: Do the majority of your learners use the Internet?
Here are excerpts from the article taken from 
http://www.clickz.com/stats/sectors/demographics/article.php/3574176 

The Online Battle of the Sexes
* * *   Demographics 
By Enid Burns | December 29, 2005 
As the gender gap narrows on the Internet, demographic differences hold more sway. The Pew Internet & American Life Project's report, "How Women and Men Use the Internet," finds online behavior differences between the two genders. 

Since 2002, the percentage of online users has increased for both men and women. Male online users increased from 61 percent in 2002 to 68 percent in 2005. The percentage of women online in 2002 was 57 percent; by 2005 the number increased to 66 percent. Though the percentage of male Internet users is consistently higher, the actual number of women online is higher because there are more women than men in the U.S. 

Age skews the gender gap. Young women, ages 18-29, are more likely to go online than men of the same age group. Eighty-six percent of the female group uses the Internet, compared to 80 percent of young males. 

The statistics are flipped among older adults in the over 65 group. Thirty-four percent of older men use the Web, compared to 21 percent of women in the same age group. 

Race is another demographic that sees a gender gap. White men are more likely to use the Web: 70 percent of white men and 67 percent of white women regularly going online. The percentage has increased for both sexes since 2002; 62 percent of white men and 58 percent of white women were online three years ago. 
The percentage of African-American women outnumbers African-American men online. Sixty percent of black women use the Web, compared to 50 percent of black men. In 2002, only 46 percent of black women and 48 percent of black men used the Web. 

English-speaking Hispanic women make up a fairly equal portion of the Web population. From 2002 to 2005, the percentage of online women in this group increased from 56 percent to 66 percent. Men from the English-speaking Hispanic community increased from 59 percent online three years ago to 67 percent this year. 

Married couples are more likely to go online than their single counterparts. Seventy-five percent of married or living-as-married women use the Internet compared to 56 percent of single women. Men mirror the statistic; 72 percent of married and living-as-married men are online, and only 62 percent of single men use the Internet. 
**********************************************************************************************
Once again, my questions are:
- Do you think that the results match what you see in your classrooms, centers, and libraries, or what you hear learners say? 
- Do the majority of your learners use the Internet?


Daphne Greenberg
Assistant Professor
Educational Psych. & Special Ed.
Georgia State University
P.O. Box 3979
Atlanta, Georgia 30302-3979
phone: 404-651-0127
fax:404-651-4901
dgreenberg at gsu.edu 

Daphne Greenberg
Associate Director
Center for the Study of Adult Literacy
Georgia State University
P.O. Box 3977
Atlanta, Georgia 30302-3977
phone: 404-651-0127
fax:404-651-4901
dgreenberg at gsu.edu 
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