How Americans are Expanding Use of the Internet
Although
the aggregate rates of use and growth by gender have equalized,
there are still gender-related differences in Internet use within
various age groups. Women, from approximately age 20 to age 50,
are more likely to be Internet users than men. From about age
60 and older, men have higher rates of Internet use than women
do.
Gender
can also be considered in the context of household type. In previous
years, people who lived in single-parent households (where children
under the age of 18 are present) headed by women were less likely
to be Internet users. The Internet use rate among people living
in female-headed single parent households grew dramatically between
August 2000 and September 2001, and the differential between Internet
use rates between people living in male and female single parent
households has largely disappeared.
However,
people who live in households headed by married couples (where
children under the age of 18 are present) are more likely than
people who live in other household types to be both computer and
Internet users.
(Source: NTIA
and the Economics and Statistics Administration)
This report is based on the September 2001 U.S.
Census Bureau's Current Population Survey - a survey of approximately
57,000 households and more than 137,000 individuals across the
United States. As such, the data in this study are among the most
broad-based and reliable datasets that have been gathered on Internet,
broadband, and computer connectivity. |