A Media & Technology Survey by Boston University finds that women get more impacted by social media than men. On the other hand, traditional media equally helps both women and men. The survey was taken by 1,005 American respondents and 52% agreed that social media negatively impacts more women than men, while 17% disagreed. 32% of the respondents agreed that traditional media gives equal attention to issues about men and women, while 35% disagreed with that.
It was surprising to see that most respondents didn’t have any stance about how they see women and men’s issues being portrayed on traditional media. The survey also talked about how fake news can harm women more than men. 51% of the Democrats said that this is very true, while 25% of the Republicans agreed that fake news affects women more than men.
33% of the respondents also said that fake information is more likely to harm women than men and 20% disagreed with that statement. Misrepresented information can also harm women more than men (42%) and reinforcing gender stereotypes also have more chance to become harmful to women than men (50%). 45% of the men agreed that social media is one of the biggest reasons for gender stereotypes but 20% of respondents disagreed.
The survey also found out which age group is most critical while using traditional media. People of ages 35-54 are more likely to point gender inequalities on media (41%), as compared to people of ages above 55% (33%) and people of ages 18 to 35 (31%). This is because older generations haven’t seen much talk about gender equality, while middle aged people are more likely to consume traditional media and talk about inequalities between men and women.
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It was surprising to see that most respondents didn’t have any stance about how they see women and men’s issues being portrayed on traditional media. The survey also talked about how fake news can harm women more than men. 51% of the Democrats said that this is very true, while 25% of the Republicans agreed that fake news affects women more than men.
33% of the respondents also said that fake information is more likely to harm women than men and 20% disagreed with that statement. Misrepresented information can also harm women more than men (42%) and reinforcing gender stereotypes also have more chance to become harmful to women than men (50%). 45% of the men agreed that social media is one of the biggest reasons for gender stereotypes but 20% of respondents disagreed.
The survey also found out which age group is most critical while using traditional media. People of ages 35-54 are more likely to point gender inequalities on media (41%), as compared to people of ages above 55% (33%) and people of ages 18 to 35 (31%). This is because older generations haven’t seen much talk about gender equality, while middle aged people are more likely to consume traditional media and talk about inequalities between men and women.
Read next: The Next Big Thing: 2025's Biggest Emerging Tech Set to Transform Our Future!
