It’s 6am. You roll over and start the daily routine—touch the phone on, check the weather, scan emails and messages. Get up, shower, dress, have breakfast. Hustle the kids through their morning while arranging the day with your partner and checking the news online. Head out the door for drop offs on the way to work. Power through the to do list, checking Facebook, Twitter, news sites, messages and emails during the day. Look at recipes online for dinner ideas. Bask in a little Pinterest as you wind down for the day while noting what the kids are looking at online. Head to bed with a little Netflix on the tablet, and fall asleep—with two devices nearby.
This scenario is a common one. In Australia, a staggering 86% of households have home internet access . There’s much that appeals: technology has allowed us to expand our horizons in ways we could not have imagined only a decade ago. We now research, learn, read, watch, plan, play, share and communicate with friends, family, businesses and strangers online using a range of devices from smartphones to tablets, laptops, computers and gaming handsets. It’s a smorgasbord of entertainment, connection and experiences. There is a spectrum of benefits, from small-scale improvements in access and connection, all the way to opening up to previously unforeseen personal growth or overwhelming business success. The list is long and varied. But there is a flipside.
For all the power that technologies have granted us, and the promise of improvements to our lives, there are also a range of shortcomings. And while negative experiences online are not solely the domain of women, females are unfairly represented as victims of cyber abuse and targets of appalling online behaviour.
As an example: research conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that one in four Australian women has experienced emotional abuse from a current or former partner, and one in six Australian women has experienced violence from a current or former partner . In most cases this abuse and violence includes the use of technology to abuse, control and stalk…Click here to read full article.
