Women Use More Social Media, But the Gap Is Closing

Social media use is higher than it’s ever been – across the board. This we know. But is there a marked gender difference in it? According to Pew, a gender gap in social media use still exists,...
Women Use More Social Media, But the Gap Is Closing
Written by Josh Wolford
  • Social media use is higher than it’s ever been – across the board. This we know. But is there a marked gender difference in it?

    According to Pew, a gender gap in social media use still exists, but it’s shrinking.

    A recent study found that 80% of women use some sort of social networking site, compared to 73% of men.

    Five years ago, those numbers were 68% and 53%, respectively.

    Of course, “social media” is a broad brush. The gender differences in specific site use are more pronounced.

    “Although the overall percentage of men and women who report using social media is now comparable, there are still some gender differences on specific platforms. Pinterest, Facebook and Instagram have a larger female user base, while online discussion forums like Reddit, Digg or Slashdot attract a greater share of male users. Gender differences on Twitter, Tumblr and LinkedIn are not significant,” says Pew.

    Screen Shot 2015-08-28 at 9.57.19 AM

    Top social networks Facebook and Instagram see more use from women than men, with the Facebook gap being larger.

    Pinterest’s reputation as a female-dominated network still holds, but although that 44% to 16% might look huge – it used to be worse. In 2012, only 5% of men reported Pinterest use.

    The only social media destinations where men outnumber women is link-based forum sites like reddit, Digg, and slashdot – the former of which should surprise nobody. While Pinterest has an all-girl reputation, reddit has one for being pretty full of guys. Over on reddit, not much has changed over the past couple of years.

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