LatinaLista — It’s certainly not new news that women have always felt overworked and stressed out trying to balance family and work. Nor is it a grand revelation that women are becoming more empowered and making more and more of the household business decisions, along with, comprising a major part of the workforce.
Yet, it is surprising to learn in the recently released report by Nielsen, Women of Tomorrow:
A Study of Women Around the World, that with all the demands on their time, how women, across the globe, have enthusiastically adopted social media — less for socializing and more and more for exercising influence to “play an integral and equal part in making a positive change for the future and affecting policies that would impact her family and the environment.”
According to Nielsen’s report, online women are more engaged than men. On average, it’s estimated there are between 200-300 dedicated women’s discussion forums where topics range from family and work to managing financial affairs and health concerns.
The report’s authors say that women tend to visit more sites and spend less time on each site than men do, and the sites of choice tend to be social and community in nature.
On a social level, women talk and text on their mobile devices more than men. Nielsen data shows that women talk 28 percent more and text 14 percent more than men every month; they are also heavier users of social features of phones (SMS, MMS, social networking) compared to men who tend to use functional features more (GPS, email, Internet).
“Nielsen reports that social media usage has reached high penetration rates in countries such as the United States (73%), Italy (71%), South Korea (71%), Australia (69%), France (64%), Brazil (63%) and Germany (50%).”
As a result, it’s hardly surprising that researchers discovered women see technology and social media as improving their lives. The feeling is more prevalent in emerging countries versus developed ones.
For example, 58 percent of women in developed countries credit the computer with making life better for them while 73 percent of women in emerging countries feel the same.
The fact that women have adapted so readily to technology, once considered a male domain, and social media, in particular, speaks volumes to the changing role of women in society and proves that life, politics and business are nothing more than about building relationships — an area that women obviously excel.
