New research has revealed how much time the average Briton spends on their phone every day.
But the results show that there is a big difference between the time men and women spend on the Internet and what they do with their devices.
OfcomA report by Online Nation shows that most Britons spend four hours and 20 minutes online every day – almost a quarter of their lifetime.
However, it is women who use the Internet the most, spending 33 minutes more than men.
Overall, women spend 4 hours and 36 minutes online per day, while men spend 4 hours and 3 minutes online per day, the new report shows.
The gap is even more pronounced among mobile-oriented Gen Z women, who spend more than an hour online than their male counterparts.
Women aged 18-24 spend six hours and 36 minutes online, compared to five hours and 28 minutes for men of the same age.
However, the study also found that men spend more time trying to find birth control options AIusing online dating, and viewing pornography.
A recent Ofcom report on British internet behavior found that women spend 33 minutes longer online each day than men. In 2024, most women will spend four hours and 36 minutes on their devices (stock photo)
An Ofcom spokesman told MailOnline: ‘This report is a really in-depth look at what people are doing online, and we were struck by the gender differences in the data – and by the different experiences of women in online life.’
Ofcom’s latest annual report Online Nation collects data from around the country to see how people spend their time online.
The results show that Gen Z (18-24) spend the most time online of any age group, using the internet for an hour more than those aged 25-34.
The average person aged 18-24 spent more than six hours online in 2024, compared to four hours and three minutes for someone aged 45-54.
A large portion of Gen Z’s internet time was dominated by TikTok which is used by three quarters of 18-25s.
The average woman between the ages of 18-25 spends 1 hour and 17 minutes on a short video program every day, while men of the same age spend 35 minutes less.
Overall, the over 65s were the least active internet users in the UK, spending just three hours and ten minutes online each day.
However, women spend more time online than men regardless of age.
Gen Z spends more time online than any other generation, spending more than six hours on smartphones, tablets, and computers each day. TikTok was one of the most popular social media platforms, with the average 16-25 year old woman spending an hour on the app every day.
Previous research has found that many young people in the UK now struggle to go an hour without looking at their phone
A third of Brits’ time online is spend on mobile phones, and the average person spends 3 hours and 15 minutes on their phone every day.
Tablets and computers each had half an hour of Internet user time left.
Additionally, the study found that there is a widening divide in the types of content and sites that men and women access online.
When it comes to the top 10 social media sites, women make up the majority of users of Pinterest, Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.
On Pinterest in particular, 79 percent of all time spent on the site was read by female users.
On the other hand, men account for more time on Quora, X (formerly Twitter), Reddit, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
Men are also the biggest users of online porn in the UK, making up 73 percent of the total audience.
In May 2024, 13.8 million UK adults accessed porn and the average person spent 1 hour and 33 minutes a month.
Ofcom discovered that Pornhub continued to be the most popular porn site, visited by 18 percent of UK adults online.
Ofcom research found that people aged 18-25 are the most active internet users. Previous research has found that nearly 100 percent of teenagers now own a phone by the time they turn 18.
Men of all ages spent less time online but were the most users of AI, social networking services, and pornography (stock photo)
An Ofcom spokesman said: “Although women are generally more engaged in online activities, they are more likely than men to see a boundary between their viewing time and physical activity.
‘But they are also very skeptical about the importance of the Internet and society, because they cannot think that the benefits of the Internet are better for people than they are for men. .’
When it comes to online experiences, Ofcom found that women are more likely to receive unapproved friendships and experience sexual harassment.
Younger girls in particular were more likely than boys to experience factors that promote unhealthy exercise or eating habits and related to eating disorders.
An Ofcom spokesman said: ‘It is not fair that women and girls are the victims of online harassment, misogyny and disturbing threats.
‘They feel less confident about their online safety than men, and are less likely to have a voice online or share ideas.
In February, Ofcom will publish detailed guidance on how it expects tech companies to take action to protect women and girls online.
The spokeswoman added: ‘We want to see an industry-wide focus on making online life safer for women and girls.’
What is smartphone addiction?
Currently, cell phone addiction is not officially recognized by psychiatrists as a mental disorder like depression or anxiety.
However, the term is now widely accepted as scientists warn of an alarming rise in cases.
Recent research has shown that more than a quarter of the world’s population has a problem with using a smartphone while prices can be as high as 70 percent in countries like China and Saudi Arabia.
Similarly, a survey from the Pew Research Center found that 95 percent of UK teenagers said they were online ‘almost all the time’.
However, several prominent researchers suggest that this may be stretching the term ‘addiction’ too far.
Professor Mark Griffiths, a leading expert on internet addiction from Nottingham Trent University, told MailOnline: ‘There is a difference between the problem of mobile phone use and the misuse of a smartphone.’
Even if you spend hours on your phone every day and find you can’t turn off your phone, it doesn’t mean you’re addicted.
Researchers say smartphone addiction is on the rise worldwide. The researchers found that China, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia had the highest mobile phone usage rates, they found, while Germany and France had the lowest.
Previous studies have shown that the use of smartphones for depression has increased worldwide. However, many people can use it moderately but not become completely addicted
Addiction, unlike heavy use, changes our behavior at the neurological level and sets up compulsive and highly dependent behaviors.
Professor Griffiths said: ‘Many children will not achieve what I want to be able to use a smartphone.
‘Although many of them will experience difficulties in using it which can be life-threatening.’
Professor Griffiths adds: ‘If I’m testing mobile phone addiction I use the word addiction in exactly the same way I would use heroin, alcohol or any other drug.’
Similarly, Dr Daria Kuss, a psychologist and behavioral addiction specialist from Nottingham Trent University, told MailOnline: ‘Mobile phone addiction is a psychological condition in which the user experiences symptoms associated with drug dependence.’
