More than one-third (36%) of online US and Canadian women would give up chocolate, their Pradas, or their mother-in-law before they gave up their social networks, but only half would be willing to pay subscription fees to continue using such networks, according to a research study and report by ShesConnected Multimedia.

The study, “The Power of Social Networking for Women,” asked women in the US and Canada how they are using social networks and found that 53% of online women use social networks at least weekly, and that social-networking women – most of whom are highly engaged and comfortable with technology – are one of the fastest growing segments on social networking sites.

However, though social networking continues to grow in popularity and presents an increasing array of benefits, the research also found that women place paramount importance on protecting their privacy online. More than nine in 10 women say controlling their privacy settings on social networks is “very important,” and only slightly fewer (86%) say that blocking other users is of utmost importance. This compares with 72% of online women who say that posting comments is very important and 71% who say it’s very important to be able to invite a friend.

The top five reasons women belong to social networks:

* To network professionally

* To stay up-to-date with friends

* To stay up-to-date with groups they belong to

* To promote their business.

* To research products or services

Most Popular Activities

The study also found that a growing number of women are viewing video and reading blogs. According to the study, the most popular social networking activities for women:

* Viewing video

* Reading blogs

* Posting photos

* Writing in blogs

* Posting comments