Only 30% women in India surf the internet, says study

Most of us can’t survive a day without googling or checking our social media accounts, but according to a recent survey titled “Women and Technology”, conducted by Google, only one-third of our country’s population that have access to the internet are women. With people from different sections of the society using smartphones and having access to computers and cyber cafés, this is not exactly an expected number. The survey further stated that about 70% of all Internet users are males.

The “Women and Technology” study surveyed 828 women aged between 8 years to 55 years and found out that only 30% women in India currently use the internet. If you find this piece of information surprising, than wait till you hear this- many women who were not using internet said that they believed their in-laws would become angry if they find out that they surfing the net.

Most people, however, have time constraints, connectivity issues and affordability problems due to which they don’t use it. The study also found that the women who surf the Internet regularly were self-dependent, and had a higher income compared to those who didn’t. Sandeep Menon, country head marketing for Google India told the Indian Express, “While there is low awareness about the benefits of Internet amongst women in India, there are many who want to get online to succeed in life.”

He added, “We are working with various partners to help spread awareness about the benefits of being online amongst women. We have launched a new film to inspire young digital natives to bring their mothers online… There are large number of educated women in India with internet access in their households, but they still do not use the internet. We are making an appeal to their children to hold their mother’s hand as she discovers a new world online.”

Avaaz.com>