The number of teenage girls using the Internet has increased dramatically according to a report released yesterday by Media Metrix, Inc. and Jupiter Communications that investigated women’s online behavioral patterns across various age groups and life stages.
The report examined Web sites with the highest percent composition of females in each stage of life from schoolgirls to older women.
Highlights from the report include:
* The number of women online surpassed that of men for the first time ever in the first quarter in the U.S.
* The population of women online is growing more rapidly than the online population overall.
* Girls 2-11 are most heavily concentrated within television-related Web sites, licensed merchandise, music, and learning.
* The most notable increase by age group from 1999 to 2000 was among teen girls 12-17, which increased more than 125%.
* Sites with the highest composition of females 12-17 remain firmly clustered around several key user interests: teen-targeted fashion magazines, shopping, and music. The number of teens increased 126% over the past 12 months.
* The number of females aged 18-24, on the other hand, decreased slightly during the same period.
* Women 55 and older have the highest audience share within family, health, genealogy and joke/fun pages.
* Online behavior among women in Europe reflects the U.S. in that European women also use the Internet to gather specific information to make their lives easier, rather than indiscriminate surfing across many different sites. Among the most popular sites for women in Europe are those with information on retail, careers and travel.
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