Which Gender Uses Social Media Smarter?

Women are better at managing their social media pages more responsibly and more securely than men, according to a new study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, which polled more than 2,000 adults about how they manage their social media profiles.

Researchers found that both genders have made progress in better using privacy controls and managing their reputations on social networks than just a few years ago — but women more so than men.

For example, men tend to have their pages more open to view by anyone than women, who tend to restrict it more. Twenty-six percent of men select public settings for their social network profiles while only 14 percent of women do so, the study found. Two-thirds of women allow only friends to view their Facebook, LinkedIn, or MySpace pages without any restrictions. On the other hand, fewer than half of men allow only friends to view their profiles.

Women also are more choosy about who they keep in their network. Sixty-seven percent of women say they’ve deleted people from their networks, while 58 percent of men say they’ve deleted connections.

What’s more, women also tend to be more careful about what they post. Nearly double the number of men than women reported they had posted something on their social network pages that they later have regretted (15 percent of men verses 8 percent of women), according to the study.

Source: “Study Shows Women Are Smarter Than Men About Social Media,” Forbes.com (Feb. 24, 2012)