For the first time in the U.S., women make up the majority of the online population, says a survey by Media Metrix. In 1999, women made up 45.4 percent of internet users; today, women are 50.4 percent of internet users. The fastest growing group of women on the internet is teenage girls aged 12-17, 4.4 million of whom are online regularly-a 126 percent increase from just one year ago. The number of female internet users over age 55 dramatically increased as well, by 110 percent since 1999. While older women still make up only 4.4 percent of the online population overall, they now number 3.3 million.
An anthropologist interviewed by the Washington Post suggests that a general trend toward equality for women has contributed to women’s increased presence online. The Post also denotes that women are using internet technology for a variety of purposes. Women visit health sites, genealogy sites, and entrepreneurial sites. Women of all ages also use internet message boards to voice their opinions on timely and feminist topics, from the upcoming presidential election to reproductive rights. The Feminist Majority Foundation’s feminist.org remains one of the most well-trafficked non-profit sites on the internet.
