The following data from the (n)onliner-study of the Initiative D21 (2008) in Germany and the annual study (period 2005-07) on the use of Information and Communication Technologies in Greece (Observatory for the Greek IS, 2008) provide a statistically representative overview of the Internet usage in German and Greek households with a focus on the digital divide between female and male users.
The 2008 data of the (n)onliner-study is based on more than 50,000 computer-supported telephone interviews with German-speaking inhabitants aged 14 years and over, in the years 2005-2007. Internet usage was defined as using the Internet, independent of location and reason of usage, during the last 12 months.
The data on individuals’ Internet usage in Greece by the Observatory for the Greek IS (2009) is also based on annual telephone interviews. In 2008, about 5,966 randomly selected households, with at least one member aged 16-74 years, distributed pro rata among the 13 Greek Regions, were contacted, and this resulted in 2,316 interviews with individuals having used the Internet at least once a week over the last 3 months.
On the basis of these studies, increased use of computers and the Internet can be observed for both men and women in both countries. Although the percentage of women using ICT is growing faster than that of men, there is still a significant gender gap. That gap seems to get smaller with time.
Furthermore, Table 2 shows that Internet use has penetrated German households much more at this time than Greek households. This result reflects the above reported Eurostat data of Internet access and broadband connection in Germany and Greece.
Table 3 presents detailed figures with respect to specific age groups in Germany and Greece. The data refers to a differing basis in each cate-
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gory for both countries. However, the comparison shows that the higher share of Internet users in Germany (see Table 1) is valid across all age groups. Furthermore, one can see that Internet use decreases with age in both countries. The figures reveal that the difference between age groups within one country is much stronger in Greece than in Germany; while Internet usage for Germans aged 50-59 is more than half, only an eighth of Greeks in the same age category uses the Internet.
It is worth mentioning that in the young cohorts, gender discrepancy in ICT use is rather small. For example, in 2007 the 10-15 years age group in the major Athens area shows almost no differences: 94 percent of the boys compared to 91 percent of the girls use computers, and 70 percent of the boys compared to 76 percent of the girls use the Internet (Observatory for the Greek IS, 2008). The situation in Germany is comparable: the (n)onliner study shows equal Internet usage statistics of female and male teenagers in the age group 14-19 years, with females being slightly ahead in 2008 (females: 94.3 percent, males: 93.2 percent; see Initiative D21, 2008; similar results were also discovered by Imhof, Vollmeyer, & Beierlein, 2007; and MPFS, 2008).
Reflection
To sum up, there is some progress with respect to gender equality in ICT usage, especially at the teenage level. Yet, Internet usage is just one aspect of ICT which needs to be considered from the perspective of gender differences. Therefore, it is important to have a closer look beyond usage statistics at skills and self-confidence with respect to particular fields of ICT. The following section will provide more detailed insights.