Women are more attracted to social media sites than men are, a new study from the University of Bath claims.
Psychologists from the university compiled a paper entitled ‘Gender, Internet Experience, Internet Identification and Internet Anxiety: A ten year follow up’, which looked at the differences between the online habits of men and women, opus.bath.ac.uk reports.
The research found that women are the more likely sex to post and respond to social media content on sites such as Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest; namely because they find them more interesting than their male counterparts. Men, meanwhile, often prefer betting, gaming and music websites.
The ‘ten year follow up’ as mentioned in the name referenced the fact that this study is a repeat of one conducted a decade ago. The repeat was aimed at seeing how the internet has changed and what people are now using it for.
Elsewhere in the study, children were found to be making their first steps online from the age of 11 and the average Brit will spend around three hours per day online.
Speaking to telegraph.co.uk of the results, the paper’s lead author, Dr Richard Joiner, explained: “Our findings indicate that rather than transcending or overcoming gender differences in wider society, internet use by males and females seems to reflect, and in some instances even exacerbate, these broader trends.
“In previous research we found no gender differences in the use of the internet for communication, whereas in the current study we found gender differences in communication and that females were using social network sites more than males.”