Recent findings illustrate noticeable differences in how men and women engage online.
- Women generally spend more time online daily compared to men, with this trend most pronounced among Gen Z females.
- Social media preferences show women favour platforms like Pinterest and Instagram, whereas men lean towards Quora and Reddit.
- Concerns over online harm differ, with women more worried about issues like extremism and misogynistic content.
- Men show a greater propensity towards using generative AI tools and spending time on news sites.
Ofcom’s latest report reveals a considerable disparity in the online habits of men and women. According to the data, women across all adult age groups are online longer than their male counterparts. Specifically, in May 2024, women spent on average an extra 33 minutes online daily compared to men, totalling 4 hours and 36 minutes versus 4 hours and 3 minutes.This gap widens among Gen Z, where women aged 18-24 spend an average of 6 hours and 36 minutes online each day, a full hour more than men of the same age group.
Social media platforms show distinct gender preferences in engagement. Women dominate the time spent on platforms such as Pinterest, Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook, with percentages as high as 79% on Pinterest. Conversely, men prefer platforms like Quora, X, Reddit, LinkedIn, and YouTube. These preferences reflect broader differences in social media usage and engagement between genders.
Gender differences extend to perceptions of online risks and benefits. Although women spend more time online, fewer women than men believe the internet’s advantages outweigh its risks, and a smaller percentage regard it as beneficial for society. Women express greater concern over potential online dangers, including extremism, human trafficking, suicide, and hateful content, with teenage girls particularly worried about sexual, misogynistic, and violent content.
Different online experiences of harm are evident between genders. Men are more likely to encounter misinformation, scams, or hateful content. In contrast, women report higher instances of unwelcome friend requests, exposure to misogynistic content, and issues related to body image. Teenage boys are more prone to encountering dangerous stunt content, whereas teenage girls face more content related to body image concerns.
The gender gap also appears in the use of generative AI and online news habits. Men are more likely to have used generative AI tools and to spend more time on online news services. Meanwhile, women are more inclined to visit health and wellbeing sites, highlighting a significant behavioural divergence in digital spaces. Upcoming online safety laws aim to address some of these risks, requiring tech companies to enhance protection for users.
As digital usage patterns continue to evolve, these findings underscore the importance of targeted approaches to online safety and digital literacy.
