Getting in touch with the inner geek

I have frequently been accused of being a girl geek. It`s almost impossible to be a journalist working in the IT sphere without having such accusations levelled at you. I always protest vehemently and make a mental note to work into my future conversation some piece of techno-idiocy to cover my tracks.

I guess my indignation at the title springs from the associations it conjures up. Geeks are socially inept (I`m not). They generally have very thick glasses (I have 20/20 vision). Their hair is greasy (I have immaculate personal hygiene) and they have terrible, pasty skin (OK, I`m a little pale, but still).

I guess my indignation at the title springs from the associations it conjures up.

Georgina Guedes, Journalist, ITWeb

Despite my protestations to the contrary, my geekery is evidenced by my insistence on resolving arguments using Google searches (biweekly does mean once every two months), my ability to figure out what`s wrong with my mother`s computer (she accidentally hit the 'insert` key), and my ongoing obsession with the daily news services.

In light of my losing battle against being assigned this moniker, I was delighted to see the release of an English survey, conducted internationally, which trumpets the rise of the New Geek. Results have shown that New Geeks socialise more than their non-connected counterparts. They shun the television, and spend more of their time reading, but primarily, they use the Internet to keep themselves informed and to enrich their day-to-day lives.

Hooray! At last I have been understood. I am not one of a dull group of people who never see the light of day. Instead I am part of an online elite, moving from parties to restaurants and mingling with other likeminded 'netizens`. Where do I find the time to get online?

The survey also revealed that men still comprise the majority of Internet users, but that women are closing the gap, and that Koreans are the most likely to trust Internet content, while the Swedes are the biggest sceptics. Despite the prevalence of offline interacting among Net users internationally, China remains the nation with the largest proportion of online socialising among its population.

Interestingly enough, I went to the Chinese New Year celebrations in Cyrildene this past Saturday. Despite the terrifying bangs of giant firecrackers and the flying pieces of paper accompanying each explosion, a good time was had by all. However, testimony to my innate geekyness was my disappointment, upon returning home, to discover that an online puzzles list to which I am subscribed had solved a couple of the trickier ones without me.