Women to outdo men on Net usage
European women will be spending more time online than their male counterparts within 12 months, according to a report published by the European Interactive Advertising Association (EIAA).
The research shows that men have traditionally embraced the internet, spending an average of 11 hours a week online in 2005 compared to nine hours a week for women. However, in the past three years, the number of hours spent online by female internet users has grown by 63%, compared to just 54% for men.
The internet is Europe’s fastest growing media among women, the EIAA says – time spent watching TV has grown by only 12% while time spent on reading magazines has fallen by 4.5% in the past year.
Michael Kleindl, chair of the EIAA, says: “Whether it’s sharing opinions through blogging, saving time on the weekly shop with e-commerce or communicating more efficiently by instant messaging, the internet is becoming increasingly integrated into the woman of today’s lifestyle.”
The women driving this growth and spending the most time online are the 16- to 24-year-olds, young professionals and women with children. The number of young professional women using the Net has increased by 116% since 2003, while women with children use the internet 14% more than the average European woman.
The European Interactive Advertising Association is a pan-European trade organisation for sellers of interactive media.
