What Women Think of the Internet
“The Net is for women to do what they want with it.” (Sinclair, 1996, p. 6)
“Everyone’s on equal footing, no matter what kind of shoe you wear.” (Sinclair, 1996, p. 8 )
These two statements offer powerful insights into what exactly women think of the internet. In a marked difference from the real-world that is distinctly male-dominated, the cyber-world offers women the unprecedented opportunity of creating their own space—a space that captures and reflects their voices and their concerns, their beliefs and their realities. It offers women a space that can be used for networking, sharing information and for connecting with other women globally.
For women, the internet is a space where they not only have a voice or a presence; it is also a space to spin new thoughts and ideas through their web pages; a space where they can make connections with other women and other women’s organizations across the world. The internet has the tremendous potential for providing a space where the diversity of realities and opinions that comprise our complex social world can co-exist.
Communication, access and safety are the salient features of the internet that appeal the most to women across all cultures and ages.
CommunicationWomen consider the internet as a powerful communication tool;
a medium through which they can make connections with each other and form communities that are defined by common shared interests rather than by geographical restrictions. Having the ability to communicate and share information with a wide range of women across the internet gives women access to new ideas and has the potential to facilitate powerful social changes.
Because it offers them the opportunity to communicate with others who share similar situations and experiences, women see the internet as a tool that helps them alleviate their sense of alienation and isolation. The underlying appeal of the internet is the recognition that women can create communities, share experiences and disseminate information to any other woman or any other organization anywhere in the world. In that sense, the internet is a true forum of democracy, where women’s voices are expressed and heard equally.
To learn more about how women view the internet, the rest of the article is here:
