Do females use social networking site more than males?Men and women use social media for different uses. "Females spend more time than males on social media sites. They also contribute more, use mobile social networking more and they buy more stuff online than men do." (smedio.com, 2011) - Females are stereotypically known for spending more time on the phone, so it could be said as the emergence of Social Networking Sites (SNS) grew; females adapted to using SNS on their mobiles to communicate instead. Do females need to be socially connected at all times whilst males have other priorities?
Research has shown that females tend to use SNS such as Facebook and Twitter more regularly, whilst males tend to use LinkedIn. A much higher percentage of females post more photos and update their status more than males do on Facebook. "Men use social media to accomplish things and gain status, women seem to use it for deeper stuff like building genuine relationships, solidarity and discussions about life." (collective-thoughts.com, 2011) - Males are also more likely to use the internet for online gaming sites and multi-media viewing rather than SNS. Could this be because men and women act differently online as they do in everyday life? Females are natural networkers and tend to express their emotions more and men have more traditional masculine interests?
There are nearly twice as many LinkedIn users as females. Males may tend to like and use LinkedIn more as it is more of a professional social network, therefore they use it to attract job offers and networking with businesses in order to be successful. Could this fit in with the traditional role of masculinity and imbalance of management roles with females?
Why do you think there is gender differences in SNS participation? Why do they network differently? Is being socially connected more of a priority for females?
References
http://smedio.com/2011/06/22/women-are-taking-over-the-social-web/
http://collective-thoughts.com/2009/05/14/gender-differences-in-social-media-participation/
There is definitely a gender difference in SNS participation, simply because women tend to use social network sites for different reasons, compared to men. Women are more emotionally driven, whereas men tend to be a little more mindful. Most men do use social network sites for professional and business purposes, whereas, for women it is more likely to be for leisure purposes. Nevertheless I do think being socially connected is as much as a priority for women, as it is for men. The statement above might not be 100% correct but this is just my own opinion.
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