The concept of gendered Internet covers differences in Internet use between men and women. In research done on the levels of Internet usage, it has been found that, in most countries, men use the Internet significantly more than women, although the gap is narrower among younger people. The fact that men use the Internet to a greater extent influences its development, meaning that it predominantly reflects masculine needs and concerns.
Aristea Fotopoulou's "Digital and networked by default? Women's organisations and the social imaginary of networked feminism" argues that women face specific barriers in using the Internet. Fotopoulou's research is focused on feminist organizations which use the Internet for the purposes of activism rather than on general activity. She concludes that lack of resources and media literacy hamper women from making effective use of digital platforms and that older women find these issues even more challenging.
Radhika Gajjala's "South Asian digital diasporas and cyberfeminist webs: negotiating globalization, nation, gender and information technology design" examines similar problems in a specifically South Asian context. Gajjala uses her own experience, as well as those of other South Asian women marginalized by caste and poverty as well as gender, to address the issue of who has been empowered by developments in technology. Like Fotopoulou, she concludes that, far from providing new opportunities for women, the Internet generally serves to reinforce existing patriarchal power structures.