Girls Are More Dedicated Net Users.

Though the typical Internet surfer has often been depicted as a teenage boy wearing a backwards baseball cap, a new report from Statistical Research, Inc. (SRI), suggests that girls are actually more avid Web users.

Drawing on firsthand interviews with kids, How Children Use™ Media Technology provides a detailed picture of kids’ exposures to and feelings about a variety of technologies and media, including TV, radio, magazines, and the Web. The report was prepared as part of SRI’s The Home Technology Monitor service.

The study shows that girls, ages 8 to 17, spent more time on-line yesterday than boys (46 minutes versus 35) and that they used the Internet on more days of the past week (2.7 days versus 2.0).

In addition, girls are more likely to engage in a variety of key Internet activities on a daily basis, including sending/receiving email, instant messaging (twice as likely as boys), and downloading music.

“Overall, girls seem to be active builders of communities on the Web,” observed David C. Tice, SRI’s Director of Client Services. “They are more likely to use it to keep ‘in touch,’ and they tend to value all communications media more highly. By contrast, boys appear to look at the Web more as a toy.”

For more information at http://www.statisticalresearch.com.