A Comparison: Men VS. Women's Online Behavior

In high school I did a science fair project in conjunction with a Brain Research Institute evaluating risk-taking behavior in adolescents, while focusing on the prefrontal cortex development in the brain comparing men and women. I'm far from a science geek, but data and research like this really astounds me (hey, I even got 5th in the State of Iowa) and I think it pertains to everyday life.

What I found and learned in high school, has helped me with relationships (personal, friendships, professional) and I'm still intrigued because men and women are so different. I know, I'm stating the obvious but did you ever wonder why? Since I spend a lot of my time online, I started to find interesting studies about the significant difference in online behavior of men versus women.

Photo Credit: Come Date Blog

Pew Internet Study shows the that men are "the hunters," where their status comes from how well they are able to accomplish tasks and go online, get what they're looking for, and get out. Women are "the nurturers and gatherers," they employ social networks for information, make comparison to find the best option and maintain these connections. This can be tracked back to prehistoric age with hunter-gatherers and really can connect to any activity in life.

Compared with women, online men are more likely to use the Internet to:
-Check the Weather
-Get News
-Check for sports information
-Get Political information
-Get financial information
-Do a job-related search
-Download software
-Listen to music

Compared with men, online women are more like to use the internet to:
-Send and receive email
-Get maps and directions
-Look for health and medical information
-Use websites to get support for health or personal problems
-Get religious information

More women than men send and receive email and they use it in a "richer and more engaging way." Women write to friends and family, but there is a commonality between men and women that we both appreciate email for its "efficiencies and convenience."

I find the comparison between what men and women interesting in this specific example: After 9/11 men visited more websites to tell them about things that were happening while more women said the internet helped them find people they needed to reach. There's a distinct difference between the actions of their online behavior with a curiosity versus a need to connect.

This is an interesting concept that we choose different websites, we react differently and treat the online space differently. However, at the end of the study the researchers cite, "our data show that men and women are more similar than different in their online lives, starting with their common appreciate of the internet's strongest suit: efficiency." The second strength that men and women value is the internet as a "gateway to limitless vaults of information." Of course, there is room for generality here and there are the exceptions. I believe the information is interesting but it's nice to find a common ground even amongst our inherent differences. What do you think?

Male or Female: Do you agree with these statistics? How do you think you're sharing or contributing to the online behavioral generalities?

Laughing Out Loud, Does the Body Good

I'm a big fan of laughter. In fact, I tell people that it's a hobby of mine. I've got big dimples and if you know me at all, you would probably say my laughter precedes me. It's just an innate part of my personality and what I enjoy in life. Nonetheless, I've got the science to prove it!

BoingBoing just posted the "Science of the Laughing Cure," which came from this month's Scientific American Mind article, "How Humor Makes you Friendlier, Sexier." I concur. "Laughter relaxes us and improves our mood, and hearing jokes may ease anxiety."

Norman Cousins, the journalist, author and editor of Anatomy of an Illness as Perceived by the Patient found there was no pain reliever better than clips of the Marx Brothers. For years, Cousins suffered from inflammatory arthritis, and he swore that 10 minutes of laughing at the hilarious team bought him two hours of pain-free sleep. "Amusement’s ability to counteract physical agony is well documented, and as Cousins’s experience suggests, humor’s analgesic effect lasts after the smile has faded."

Cousins' work as an adjunct professor at the School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, let him investigate the effects of emotions on biological states and health.

From his investigation and work they found: "The community of patients inspired by such miracle treatments believes not only that humor is psychologically beneficial but that it actually cures disease. In reality, only a smattering of scientific evidence exists to support the latter idea—but laughter and humor do seem to have significant effects on the psyche, even influencing our perception of pain. What is more, psychological well-being has an impact on overall wellness, including our risk of disease."

So take that. Lighten your load and remember a good laugh with friends is more than fun, it's beneficial to your psyche and can significantly improve your overall well-being.

Kat, Jenica (my closest girlfriend's from college) and myself laughing ourselves silly. It does the body good.