A new study into the nation’s internet behaviour has revealed 54% of women regularly use social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Friends Reunited compared to 34% of men.

BT surveyed over 2,000 UK respondents and found over 11m Brits use the web for entertainment, with nearly half admitting they engage with social media more than any other online content. However, the survey also showed that if the internet no longer existed, almost a third would miss its functional usage to carry out ‘life admin’ tasks.

According to the figures, 9% of woman regularly engage with online gaming, compared to 8% of men whilst men lead the way with media sharing - 13% sharing videos and photos on Youtube, Vimeo, Flickr and other similar sites compared to just 6% of women.

Women also use the internet for shopping research - 19% of women claimed they go online to find the best deals and shopping compared to 15% of men – whilst men use the web more than women to expand their knowledge or aid learning.

John Petter, MD at BT’s Retail Consumer division, said: “This research makes it clearer than ever how the nation has embraced the Internet across all aspects of life and, in particular, the different way men and women use the Internet. People now take for granted that they can manage their life all in one place, from shopping and banking to entertainment and social media.”

To view an infographic of the survey results, click here.