It found that women in developing countries, and people of both sexes with low incomes or poor education, were most influenced emotionally by their access to technology.
It is partly because women tend to have a more central role in family and other social networks, said researcher Paul Flatters of Trajectory Partnership, which conducted the research on behalf of the BCS.
BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, analysed the results of a survey of 35,000 people around the world. Access to communication devices was found to be the most valued.
The study also found that the correlation does not appear to increase with age, despite the efforts of various countries to get their older populations online.
