In the bitkom study, the digital skills of 1,002 respondents were determined by self-assessment. On average, men rated their own skills higher than women.
For example, 88% of men stated that they were able to write an email, while only 80% of the women surveyed considered themselves capable of doing so. 84% of men are confident that they can successfully search for information on the Internet, but only 77% of women. The situation is similar for digital communication: 84% of men say they know how to write a text message or short message via Messenger, compared to ten percentage points fewer women. Men are also online more often, with 91% using the internet at least occasionally, compared to 84% of women.
There are major differences in security-related skills in particular: only 30% of women say they can protect their devices and accounts with antivirus programmes or strong passwords, compared to 43% of men. Just over half (51%) of the men surveyed estimate that they are generally able to rectify errors and technical problems themselves. Among women, 37% are confident that they can do this. Following on from this, women are significantly more likely to say that they want to expand their knowledge and skills, but are also more sceptical about technological developments: 54% of women and 48% of men express the fear that they will no longer be able to keep up with technological developments.
