Women More Cautious Sharing Personal Info on Social Media Sites

February 2, 2012

This article is included in these additional categories:

Analytics, Automated & MarTech | Brand Metrics | Data-driven | Email | Men | Privacy & Security | Social Media | Staffing | Women

usamp-social-media-sharing-by-gender.jpgWomen are significantly more cautious than men when it comes to sharing a variety of personal information on social media sites, according to a uSamp survey released in January 2012. Women are 33% more likely than men to say they are definitely not willing to share their physical address (78.8% vs. 59.1%), 39% more likely to definitely not share their location (52.4% vs. 37.7%), and 36% more likely to definitely not share their phone number (77.3% vs. 56.7%).

According to a National Cyber Security Alliance and McAfee study released in November 2011, 51% of Americans are not sharing more information on social media today than the previous year, and almost half have changed the way they use social networks because of safety and security concerns.

Politics and Religion Not Such a Problem, Though

Data from uSamp’s survey indicates that while politics and religion may be topics to avoid in friendly conversation, both men and women appear fairly willing to share their affiliations online. A majority of men (57.1%) and women (50.2%) said they are willing to share their political affiliation, while an even greater proportion are happy to share their religious affiliation (62.7% and and 60.2%, respectively).

Most Will Share Brand Info

On an encouraging note for brand marketers, the vast majority of both men (79%) and women (75.8%) said they are willing to share the brands they like on social media sites. And even among the remainder, opinions are mixed: both men and women were significantly more likely to say they would probably not do so than definitely not.

Other Findings:

  • Close to three-quarters of men and women are willing to share their relationship status on social media sites, although men are 19% more likely to be willing to share their personal photos (60.7% vs. 50.9%).
  • Although the majority of men (66.7%) and women (58.4%) are willing to share their occupation, most will definitely not share their income (61.1% and 78.1%, respectively).
  • Among personal information types, men and women are most likely to be happy to share their names (86% and 88%, respectively) and email addresses (55.2% and 42.4%, respectively).

About the Data: The uSamp results are based on a survey of 600 men and women. 49.3% of respondents were men, and 50.7% were women. The survey was evenly distributed within the ages of 18 to 50 and older.

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