The Difference Blog by Dan4th ([info]differenceblog) wrote,

Internet Video Usage

iMedia Connection's Michael Estrin writes that women are watching internet video less than their male counterparts, according to a recent survey by eMarketer. Debra Aho Williamson, the report's author, was quoted in TelecomTV as saying that "women don’t feel they have the time for, or don’t want to have the time for" time-wasting internet videos.

However, women do seem to have time for social networking, as they outnumber men on Myspace and in general internet usage, Williamson told Australian IT News. In the Australian article, Williamson also says that age is a factor in watching internet video, with female teens being as enthusiastic about internet video as their male counterparts. In 2000, Bruce Bimber said that "one-half of the digital divide between men and women on the Internet is fundamentally gender related", with the remainder being explained by socioeconomic factors, and predicted that the gender gap in use might narrow.



While the survey results are no doubt interesting, Williamson's explanations are a catalog of gender stereotypes. I'm not saying that the stereotypes aren't true; I'm just amused at what feels like a list of Difference Blog topics. She says in one story that women are "supreme communicators" and in another that "men are more visual." She also suggests that women don't have time for some types of internet content (videos, extended game-play) due to juggling "child-care responsibilities."
Tags: australianitnews, bruce bimber, debra aho williamson, emarketer, gender differences, gender stereotypes, imediaconnection, internet, marketing, michael estrin, surveys, telecomtv, video

  • Post a new comment

    Error

    Anonymous comments are disabled in this journal

    Your reply will be screened

    Your IP address will be recorded 

  • 2 comments

[info]bemusing

May 7 2007, 15:42:47 UTC 5 years ago

I'm a perfect example of this. I tend to be annoyed when even people whose opinion I respect and interests I share, send me a video to watch. I almost never watch them. It does seem like a waste of time to me and I can't be bothered. But, then I spend an hour flitting around LJ and other drivel sites and am perfectly content.

[info]differenceblog

May 7 2007, 15:58:26 UTC 5 years ago

I am fairly resistant to the internet video phenomenon (and podcasts, too) because I can't skim them. If I can't skim ahead and determine whether I will find it interesting, I don't usually bother.

However, my partner has determined that we can watch internet video together, using the Wii internet browser, on the big television, and just from the results this weekend, I think this will make a huge difference in my internet video viewing.
Create an Account
Forgot your login or password?
Facebook Twitter More login options
English • Español • Deutsch • Русский…