A recent social study has come up with a striking revelation that a wide gender gap exists between boys and girls in the state of Kerala regarding the use of the internet.
Conducted by Thiruvananthapuram-based 'Society for Promotion of Alternative Computing and Employment' (SPACE),the study has found that only 58 per cent of girls surveyed used the internet for collecting information on various
subjects while 78 per cent boys used the facility.
While 59 per cent of the boys surveyed used internet by themselves, only 27 per cent of their female counterparts used it without the help of others.
Surveying 200 college students coming from different socio-economic backgrounds in the state, the study said that while 51 per cent of urban girls knew how to use internet, only 25 per cent hailing from rural background had the knowledge to use it without the support of others.
However, 78 per cent of boys coming from the same village background used the facility for collecting information and communication without others' support, the study said.
Though many know the technical know-hows of computer and internet, all of them are not fully confident while using it.
Of the 81 responses received in the survey, only 40 boys said they were confident in using it. Only 46 girls were ready to answer the question of which only 20 were confident about
using it.
Though Kerala is one of the first Indian states to have introduced free and compulsory education in high schools through its prestigious IT @School project and covers 1.6 million students every year, it has not had much positive
impact on the use of internet among youngsters in the state,the SPACE team said.
Among the 10 colleges visited for the survey, only four of them provided internet access to students, they said.
Though all college authorities admitted that ICT (Information Communication Technologies) was a necessity in present days, they did not think on-campus internet facility was necessary.
Less than 20 per cent participants in the survey said they had internet facility at home. Others depended internet cafes near colleges for the facility.
While 45 per cent of the boys admitted that they were frequent visitors to internet cafes, only 18 per cent girls visited the cafes regularly.
The SPACE team said that negative media reports on internet cafes had an adverse impact on society in Kerala.
Thirty three girls and 15 boys said their parents did not approve of them visiting such cafes.
"Negative media report on pornography, manipulation of photos, identity thefts involving cases have affect people's outlook on these things. Many girls expressed their fear for
privacy and security at internet cafes," the study said.