Research
With gizmos, it's a woman's thing now
By Diego Vasquez
Apr 1, 2008 - 1:10:05 AM

We tend to think of men as gadget geeks, the ones who go gaga over new technology as soon as it’s released. But when it comes to new media use in our daily lives, women have surged ahead of men in virtually every category, according to a new study by Solutions Research Group, a Toronto-based research firm. It found that more women than men engage in activities such as streaming video on network TV sites, logging onto social networking sites, using digital video recorders and engaging in casual gaming. Women gravitate toward these technologies mostly for two reasons, either to save time or to keep in touch. Time-pressed moms, for example, tend to be the heaviest streaming network video and DVR users, while many women employ devices like cell phones and digital cameras to update friends about their lives via Facebook posts and downloaded pictures. Donna Hall, senior director with SRG and the study lead for Women and Digital Lifestyles, talks to Media Life about why women have passed men, what the biggest growth areas are, and why teenage boys aren’t the only ones playing console games.

 
What did you find most interesting or most surprising about this study?
 
Women now lead men in social media participation, and while this is important news, in some ways it is not surprising. It just makes intuitive sense that women would embrace social media.
 
What was most surprising was to see women take charge in areas such as streaming on network TV web sites, frequent DVR use and casual gaming.
 

Everyone knows that moms are probably the busiest people on earth. How have DVRs helped change their TV viewing patterns?
 
Moms balancing career and family are indeed busy and looking for ways to find extra time in their busy schedules. DVRs have the potential to create about 15 minutes of what we call “found time” per hour if you fast forward through the commercials, and this is what we find women doing.
 
When there is a DVR in the household, women exceed men in terms of weekly usage occasions – 9.3 times per week versus 8.3 for men. The majority of women with DVRs watch at least as much recorded programming as live. And they watch the recorded show fairly quickly after the original show has aired, typically later that evening or the next day.

We often hear women in focus group discussions saying that they watch more TV since getting a DVR.
 

Why are PC games growing so rapidly among women? Which games are most popular?
 
The secret to the popularity of PC games is that these games can deliver a mini-escape, a short mental break, much the same way as watching a funny short video clip on YouTube.
 
Seventy percent of all women played a PC game in the last month. Consistent with the reasons for the appeal of PC gaming is the fact that handheld game units (e.g., Nintendo DS, Sony PSP) are very popular with women. Many take it with them for a commute or definitely when traveling.
 
I should point out that women are playing more console games also: 38 percent play console games, up from 35 percent one year ago. Among teen girls and young adults 12-24, 69 percent play console games. Gaming is a growing form of entertainment to be sure. 
 
Overall, the most popular PC games with women are various versions of Solitaire, The Sims, Bejeweled, Mahjong and Pogo. But you do see some differences in the rankings based on demographic segment.

You found that African-American women are particularly engaged with console games. Why is that?
 
In our ongoing research, we find African Americans to be power users of video-based entertainment, often early adopters. And they spend more on video entertainment products than the population at large. 
 
Gaming is one of the most dynamic forms of entertainment, with lots of interesting behavior spikes in the younger age demos as well. Given that African Americans are early adopters, this high engagement makes sense.

Where are the starkest differences between male and female media usage?
 
Men download movies or TV shows from peer-to-peer sites and most women can’t be bothered, with the exception of college-age women.
 
Women still prefer watching a bigger screen and spend more time with TV than men. They also watch more TV streamed from a network site such as ABC, CBS or Fox.

How has social media become a lifesharing thing for women?
 
On the one hand you have the rising ownership in digital lifestyle products such as cell phones with built-in cameras, digital cameras, mobile media players and laptops. On the other hand you have the easy-to-use interfaces of social media sites where photos and video are easily uploaded and shared. Both of these things are feeding on each other.
 
In terms of motivators, social communication and lifesharing are what makes technology contextually relevant for women and in turn drives adoption. Whether it is using their cell phone to capture a short video clip of a nephew singing in McDonalds or snapping a quick photo of a funny streetscape scene, the images allow friends and family to “share the moment.”
 
Women describe themselves as using social media and wireless devices to foster their relationships, be they romantic relationships or with extended friends and family.
 
Before social media we would have young women describe their cell phones as their “social life.” Now that social media can be accessed via cell phone this sentiment will only increase.
 

What are the top digital lifestyle products for women and why?
 
The top item purchased between early December 2007 and early February 2008 was a digital camera – as a matter of fact, more women upload photos from their cameras to their PCs than men in our research.
 
A close second was a cell phone. Most were upgrading their existing ones, and of course newer phones also have the ability to capture video and in some cases provide direct links to MySpace or Facebook.
 
A game console/handheld came in third, followed by laptops and digital media players. And GPS devices made it to the top items list also.
 
All these technologies are portable and they are easy to use – all of them facilitate connections or enhance them by allowing women to navigate life easier.