online communities becoming a female world

More young women are embracing online communities while fewer men feel their online communities are as important as their offline equivalents, according to a new study.

This is apparently a sharp reversal in attitudes and has taken place over just a couple of years.

Researchers at the University of Southern California say 67 per cent of women under 40 feel as strongly about their internet communities as their offline ones, while only 38 per cent of men said the same. In 2007, the numbers were just the reverse, with 69 per cent of the men and 35 per cent of the women feeling that way.

If the numbers turn out to be accurate, it could be a pointer to a rethink by us PR hacks over how we plan online campaigns.