The world of ‘apps’ is not just the domain of young geeky males. A survey just out conducted by YouGov and Lady Geek reveals that technology and software are no longer just the preserve of geeks, with women over 55 feeling liberated by their smart-phones. The report highlighted that 39% of female smart-phone owners aged 55+ have downloaded one or more app to their smart-phone and that surprisingly, gaming was the second most popular category for the same group with nearly 1 in 5 female smart-phone owners stating a gaming app is their favourite compared to only 1 in 15 of men in a similar age band

The number 1 app for females over 55 is -you guessed it- Facebook, with 18% of survey participants in this group saying that a social networking app is their favourite. Nearly a quarter of them find out about their favourite apps by recommendations from a friend compared to around 13% of men within the same age group.

In the US, the number of women over 55 on Facebook is almost double the number of men in the same age group (Source: Inside Facebook, Feb 2009). Yet despite this growth, companies tend to ignore this ‘invisible and forgotten’ generation and pay little or no heed to what they want or need.

“We set out on a mission to understand how older women use technology and raise the agenda of these ‘forgotten’ women. We are so obsessed with youth and yummy mummies in this country we forget that a third of our population is over 50. The women we spoke to loved what ‘apps’ could do for them whether it be ‘snacking’ on a 10 min Bejeweled game or updating their Facebook page with new photos. A revolution is going on within this older group but no-one seems to notice or pay any attention to these women. These women represent a significant financial opportunity as they have high amounts of disposable cash” says Belinda Parmar, founder of Lady Geek, an independent company which helps technology companies understand women.

According to a survey conducted by Oxygen Network, 3 out of 4 women would choose a sexy high end tv or a top of the range mobile phone over a pair of Jimmy Choos or a diamond necklace – can this really be true,?! Well apparently so but it makes me wonder, is it a case of either / or as im sure most women would like both – I know I would ! or is that just me me me

Being a girl geek and believe me I love all things gadgety and furthermore beat a lot of my male frirends on the gadget front I’m not sure if I would actually prefer an all singing all dancing ipod from my beloved instead of a nice shiny diamond necklace in a red and gold box.

It’s definitely true that women are embracing technology and the gender gap is rapidly disappearing in this area – “here here” – and whats more advertisers’ are coming round to the fact that they should not talk down to women when selling tech as we are now valid consumers, but why does an increased interest in technology mean that we like flowers and chocolates less, i’m not sure it does, tech rules but when all is said and done, diamonds are a girls best friend….