• by Kate Kaye , March 3, 2004

Some argue that the sexual revolution has yet to place men and women on a level playing field. The digital revolution, however, may be closing that gap.

Harris Interactive's annual 360 Youth College Explorer Study, released today, found that men and women engage in online gaming, downloading music, and digital photography, as well as text messaging, at similar rates. Commissioned by Alloy's youth media and marketing division, 360 Youth, the study evaluated consumer technology and entertainment usage of college students ages 18-30. Although differences between the sexes have emerged from the research, it's clear that this demographic on the whole--of which 65 percent uses the broadband Internet daily--is far more "wired" than the general population, of which only 37 percent uses broadband.

"This has a tremendous amount of implications for the marketing world," suggests David Michaelson, 360 Youth's director of research. "The old myth that boys like technology and girls don't just doesn't hold water anymore."

Raised on video games, this generation of young adults shares an appreciation of virtual play. According to the study, women spend 2.7 hours a week playing video games online, while men spend 2.9 hours each week. In addition, 22 percent of women are likely to own a portable video game system, compared to 27 percent of men. The sexual gap in gaming is surprisingly narrow. A recent report issued by America Online also reveals women's penchant for online game play. The AOL study showed that U.S. women over 40 spend almost 50 percent more time each week playing online games than men.

Other online entertainment-related activities are also favored by the college set, according to the Harris/Alloy study. College men and women are four times as likely to download music (59 percent) as the general online population (14 percent). Compared to just 14 percent of the remaining population, 59 percent of male and female college students download music. Of this group, 35 percent of men and 32 percent of women own digital cameras.

In addition, the study found that 60 percent of students with cell phones send and receive text messages with their phones--but for regular instant messaging, women came in at 43 percent and men at 42 percent. The overwhelming majority of college students have computers: 91 percent. Most of them own TVs--84 percent.

The findings come as no surprise to Claudia Morrell, director of the Center for Women and Information Technology, University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She agrees that "there's a trend towards the closing of the gizmo gap."

The report also indicates a growing interest in DVDs among college students. Since the fall of 2002, ownership of DVD players has jumped from 58 percent to 74 percent. Intent to purchase a DVD player is virtually equal among college men and women--15 percent of men and 16 percent of women. During the past six months, nearly six in 10 college students (56 percent) have purchased or rented (59 percent) a DVD movie or some form of DVD content, with no differences between the sexes.

Of course, women and men have their differences, including the ways they interact with tech toys. As revealed in the Harris/Alloy study, more college women own cell phones, calculators, and answering machines than men (82 percent of women versus 74 percent of men in this group own cell phones). The study also reveals that 15 percent of men play video games on a non-portable system (a console system) daily, compared to just 2 percent of women. According to 360 Youth's Michaelson, these numbers show that women enjoy technology that connects them with the outside world, while "boys are much more into individual uses of technology."

The growing adoption of digital media technology by women is "a step in the right direction," acknowledges CWIT's Morrell. But she cautions that it doesn't necessarily mean that women have the same amount of interest in technology as men, especially when it comes to career paths. Because more men gravitate toward rigorous information technology programs, she concludes that "technology will be designed more towards the interests of men."

Regardless of this underlying disconnect, the fact remains that women are increasingly buying and using technology. Asserts Michaelson: "If marketers follow traditional assumptions about usage of technology, they may be missing substantial portions of their market."