Australian Women Addicted to the Internet and Mobile Devices
Connected Women Survey reveals how a connected but unprotected lifestyle can impact relationships, home and work
Melbourne. 9 October 2013. In just released findings from a snapshot survey* into the connected lifestyles of women across Australia and New Zealand, AVG Technologies AU reveals details of how and when women are using the internet and mobile devices – both at work and at play. (Download the Infographic here.)
Michael McKinnon, Security Advisor at AVG, said: “This local survey clearly shows the extent to which we are addicted to our devices. On average, each woman reported they owned 1.3 smartphones and 1.5 laptops and 66 percent spend more than an hour each evening connected to the internet as they communicate with friends and family, work, do domestic administration, read, browse and play games.”
In their personal lives, 64 percent of respondents are in a long term relationships. There appears to be a spirit of equal openness, with 25 percent admitting to reading emails and text messages on their partner’s devices while 29 percent said their partner read theirs.
Of those people dating, 20 percent reported using Facebook and Twitter to ‘research’ their dates. Of that group, 57 percent read the person’s ‘about’ section and other comments and 21 percent responded that they had cancelled dates because of something they had found out about the person on social media. McKinnon says “This reveals the importance of thinking carefully before you post and constantly reviewing your own profile and account privacy settings.”
On the home front, 77 percent of women agree their role is vital in educating their children on the virtues and hazards of modern technology. But with 48 percent admitting to not even using a password to lock their devices, McKinnon highlights how much still needs to be done in getting the message through about device and personal protection: “Too many mums are not only leaving themselves and their devices open to misuse but they are not setting the best example for their families.”
The majority of mothers allow children as young as nine to make use of their mobile devices, 12 percent reported finding inappropriate content on devices owned by their young ones and 21 percent of mothers connect with their kids on social media.
McKinnon said: “Many mothers may not know that there are products available, such as AVG’s free Family Safety web browser, that block access to inappropriate sites while also protecting your whole family from scam, fraud, phishing and potentially malicious online content.”
Another emerging factor is mobility in the workplace, and the concept of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device), with mobile devices is having a huge impact on the overlap of work and play. A significant proportion of employed respondents (68 percent) use a mobile device, either theirs or company owned, in the workplace; 62 percent of those said that mobile devices make it harder to separate home and work life.
In a clear message to business in the era of BYOD, 70 percent of the working women surveyed believe it is the responsibility of their workplace to provide adequate security across the devices they use at work but 45 percent reported that their employers do not educate them about security issues.
*About the Connected Lifestyle SurveyThe survey of AVG’s customers, which was conducted in June this year, received 598 responses from women across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands as to their connected lifestyles.
About AVG — www.avg.com.au
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