IT MAY not have quite the same rhyming ring to it, but there is growing evidence that gadgets which have traditionally been regarded as “boys’ toys” are fast becoming “girls’ toys”.
IPods, BlackBerries, digital radios, third-generation mobile phones, hand-held computers, digital cameras, plasma screen TVs and camcorders are now just as likely to be owned by young professional women as they are by their male counterparts.
A recent survey by Kwik Save found that the average woman now spends £200 a year on techno accessories, only £30 less than the average man.
A spokeswoman for firebox.com, the gadget e-tailer, confirmed that the gender divide in gadget obsession had narrowed significantly. “The gadget market has really taken off in the last two years, and not just with boys,” she said.
Technology companies have also started to realise that gadget-loving women make up a sizeable portion of the market. Earlier this month, Fujitsu released what it claimed was the first notebook computer aimed specifically at women.
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The growing obssession by Britons — both male and female — with gadgets even sparked a recent warning from Marks & Spencer. The country’s biggest clothing retailer urged people to check their insurance after it emerged that the average person carries or wears £1,762 of possessions when they leave the house, much of which comprises gizmos such as a mobile phone, MP3 player, a luxury watch and palmtop computer.
The survey of 1,000 people aged between 25 and 35 also discovered that women carry more than men — £1,795 worth of goods compared with £1,730 for men.
Another survey by Maplin, the electronics retailer, found that women now spend more of their free time than men using computers and playing video games, smashing the myth that consumer electronics are a male-only fixation.
Maplin surveyed 6,000 people and found that women spent 15 minutes more of their free time a day using home computers than men.
They also play video games for an average of 13.33 minutes a day, compared with 12.39 minutes for men.