SKOPOS for World Telemedia - Windmill of our Minds

Editor's Notes

• #7: And despite all the modern thinking and behaviour there are certain elements of men (and women) hardwired into old-school masculinity... this is particularly evident when looking at division of labour within a household.Women continue to do the majority of ironing and laundry (particularly true in Italy) while men find themselves in the driving seat for DIY and dealing with the rubbish. It’s true that this position is more amplified amongst older age groups, meaning that these entrenched positions ARE evolving, but this is happening slowly.
• #8: And attitudinally there are some entrenched views on gender abilities. Men tend to believe they’re better at more masculine pursuits, while they think women are better at more feminine activities.But very interesting to note that many attitudes aren’t as engrained and widespread as one might think. For example: 41% of men believe they’re better at managing finances, meaning 59% of men don’t… they rather believe that men & women are equally adept or that women are better… similarly 32% believe that women are better at looking after children, meaning 68% don’t
• #9: Looking now at interests…Typically gender specific interests are no longer necessarily delineated either. ‘Career’ is an equal interest for men and women…. As are ‘local community’ and ‘charity work’, even green issues… typically thought of as the domain of women. Our question of whether digital media is catering to this new age of man is very pertinent here. There ARE country differences…Germans are far more likely to be interested in news/ current affairs and their local community BUT far less likely to bother about their career or charity workItalians are less interested in news/ current affairs but hugely over-index on green issues and DIYThe Spanish are most interested in their careers and far less bothered about DIY than the rest
• #10: And while many life interests have converged, there remain those that divide the sexes. Technology is the clear stand out passion of men compared to women. Finance, politics and investments are secondary male hotspots. Although women outscore men on matters of family life, shopping and personal appearance, scores for men remain HIGH – symbolic of ‘male brand stretch’… the expanding of the male footprint to beyond what any generation previously has lived by. So is the fact that the majority of spend in these areas is targeting women a smart choice? Is digital content best serving the interests of digital man?Before we move on to exploring what this all means for men’s general well-being it is worthwhile mentioning that we do believe there are differences between men and women – both in terms of their behaviour and their attitudes - but we do question whether these are as pronounced as society and the media often lead us to believe.
• #16: There is no doubt about it – men are digital passionistas… in love with technology. And as we have seen, this remains the last male outpost – very much a man’s domain!
• #17: E2 – To what extent do you agree with the following statement?Lets also be clear that men behaving digitally is a choice and while the perception is that technology is a male thing, in reality it is about personal preference and women are not technophobes. Where there is a difference is in the behaviour - the emotional proximity (tech love) that men and women have to digital is different.Women get technology, they appreciate the instrumental value devices bring (connect with friends, information etc..) much like how a car gets us from A to B, while men have an intrinsic love of devices themselves as well as their benefits and in general are a lot more heavily reliant on digital = men behaving digitally more than women!
• #18: The internet augments loves – one could call it e-scapism – a whopping 96% of men use the internet to enhance their hobbies and interests. This is particularly true for technology, movies, music, shopping and travel. UK men are more likely to love music and shopping; the Spanish: movies and the italians: travel.
• #19: The internet is an essential link with sport – keeping up to date, getting information not available elsewhere and even helping connect with others about sportThe Germans are less likely to view the web as critical for keeping up to date with sport, while the Italians don’t see it as having unique sports information to the same extent as other markets.
• #20: Even sport is contentious. Over a third loathe playing or watching sport. This is particularly true of the over 45s and UK men, who are 80% more likely to loathe playing sports than German men.
• #21: The dominance of technology in men’s lives has normalised all kinds of what would previously have been considered risquebehvaiour:Over a third indulge in ex-ploring… searching for an ex onlineA third flirt with strangersA quarter have met somebody online and had a physical relationship with themAnd 1 in 10 have broken up with somebody by text or online This is the face of digital that makes hard things easier to do - using the internet or technology to help them get out of, or streamline, awkward situation.Germans are far more likely to search for an ex online, while Spanish men are less likely to do so. Italian men are more likely to flirt with strangers online while French men are less likely to do so.
• #22: The internet is allowing men to explore territory that they wouldn’t necessarily feel comfortable going into otherwise – sex toys, condoms, porn, lingerie, adult content to name a few. And often under the cover of anonymity – over a quarter believe this to be a key advantage of the web!
• #52: Personal contacts: Young and single (139), Working mums with kids under 3 (132)Tweeting: New mums to be (122) and Young and single(119) most likely to use TwitterFrench women who have professional connections have a higher number of contacts than women who have social contacts (106 vs 89)
• #53: Socialising is key to a man’s downtime – both on and offline.But are men social networking or social collecting…. Simply collecting friends and followers for a boost to the ego rather than genuinely engaging with them?From light acquaintances, colleagues, school friends, neighbours, family, deep connections and people we’ve never met before, social networking keeps us only a click away from people we’ve met in our life. The reality is that there is only a handful of people that we have regular and meaningful connections with and men are MBD, digital players, many who go online to extend their circle of contacts beyond what they have offline. 22% agree the advantage of the internet is to widen their circle of friends (I1). Technology is serving to enhance and enable downtime.
• #67: But men are not turning into female replicas. While they are starting to show an interest in fashion, shopping and their appearance, this is mainly driven by the younger males. They are still in transit to being fully paid up metrosexuals.
• #68: Diving further into the future of digital we see some significant attitudinal shifts emerging: The convergence of leisure and communication – 16 – 24 year olds are significantly more likely to enjoy socialising online. Leisure is becoming more technological than ever beforeThis is also evident in the increased likelihood to use the internet to widen their circle of friends…driven no doubt in part by the ability to be a different person onlineAnd there is a tendency towards connectivity ubiquity – younger men are far more likely to have 3 or more devices to connect to the internet
• #72: 71% or video viewers will view short form video clips weekly