Facebook ads as a straight, single woman

In case you're wondering, I'm actually a straight single man. On Facebook, I'm also 106 years old, mostly because of a desire to fabricate a fictional series of life events that just happen to coincide with major events in history (and, if you include H.P. Lovecraft, fiction). Yes, I'm weird.

One of the side effects of being a single, 106-year old male is a lot of senior dating ads. But, surprisingly, or not, there are other, non-senior ads. In fact, Facebook sees it fit to try to entice me with pictures of women who I feel are too young for me at 30, much less 106.

This got me thinking: Facebook ads as I see them are predominately political (liberal) and dating oriented. How would this look for a woman?

So I changed my Facebook gender.

The results weren't apparent, initially. But I can say, after about two weeks as a 106-year old single straight woman on Facebook, I can report the following differences:

1. I still get a lot of dating ads, but they are a bit classier.

No surprise, but the average woman is a bit classier than the average man. As a straight man, I got lots of boob shots. But as a straight woman, I get more tasteful ads. One thing I noticed is an ad that tries really hard to look like a fake inbox. Are women (specifically older women) perceived as more gullible? Or are advertisers in general trying to take greater advantage of confused misclicks?

But at least I'm not getting the "no credit card needed!" ads. (Oh, maybe that's on those other websites I visit.)

2. Some of the ads haven't updated to reflect my straight woman status.

LA Business Bootcamp advertises itself exclusively with pictures of amply endowed young women. This ad persists. Why? Well, maybe the advertiser didn't want to pay for more targeted advertising, and is simply spamming everyone with the same two images. Or maybe they *know* I'm really a straight, single, lonely man who is stupid enough to fall for a business workshop advertised by women in skin-tight T-shirts.

I (sadly) concluded long ago that whatever business I would likely be involved in will probably involve fully clothed people.

3. More phone ads.

This was a bit unexpected. Why would this be? Why didn't I notice cellphone ads as a male?

I have some possible guesses.

1. The US cellphone market is saturated, but women are (slightly) less likely to own an expensive smartphone than men.

According to this 2012 Pew research study, 93% of men and 88% of women own a cellphone. 59% of men own a smartphone, compared with 53% of women.
(There's actually a lot of interesting data. 63% of cellphone users use the phone to go online. Blacks and hispanics are more likely to own a smartphone than whites.)

These numbers don't seem all that different to me, and could be accounted for in many ways (for instance, women living longer than men, and fewer old people owning cellphones). But it might be enough of a difference for targeted advertising to pay off.

2. Women are actually the ones who pay the cellphone bills.

I wasn't able to find this data online. But given that, in families, women are often the ones who are in charge of budgeting, then it wouldn't surprise me to see numbers suggesting that women, not men, pay for cellphone plans. It would make sense for advertisers to target women more than men.

3. Random timing

Maybe I switched over at a time that providers have marked as a key time for switching contracts. Start of school year? Holiday season? Who knows? I sure don't, and I'm not going to look it up right now.

4. More weight loss ads

Sadly, this isn't a surprise. How does Facebook *know* that I need to lose about 25 pounds? It doesn't. But advertisers know that weight loss is a better sell with women than men. Boo to entrenched double standards and artificial constructions of beauty.

Seriously, I do need to lose some weight. Maybe I should click.

5. A few more clothes and furniture ads

This is also not a surprise, though somewhat less offensive than #4. I do miss those Bonobos ads that I used to get until about a year ago.

6. Fewer political ads

Does this reflect a somewhat sexist view that women are somehow less interested in politics than men? Or, does it reflect the probable reality that women are less hysterical* than men when it comes to politics, and therefore less easy to reach through FB ads?

*Yes, yes, I know.

Conclusion:

All in all, the experience has been a lot less exciting than I thought. I expected special insights into FB market segmentation, and the different world women inhabit. But I suppose if I really wanted the difference, I would go on a dating website and create a fake profile with a suitably attractive stock photo. Thankfully, I'm not that masochistic. (Goodness knows what messages I'd get if I advertised my masochism.)

In short, this was a bit of a waste of time -- doing it, thinking about it, and writing it. (Reading about it, too, no doubt.) I didn't gain any great insights. One doesn't expect to, when one limits efforts at understanding to a toe-dip into the digital pond. Looks like I'll have to actually listen and empathize with my friends who happen to be women.