Ofcom study reveals digital differences between men and women

Women spend more time online than men. Women clocked up an extra 33 minutes more each day in May 2024 for an average of 4 hours 36 minutes online, compared to 4 hours 3 minutes for men.

Women account for the majority of time spent on Pinterest (79%), Snapchat (66%), Instagram (64%), TikTok (62%) and Facebook (61%).

Men, on the other hand, account for the majority of time spent on Quora (70%), X (63%), Reddit (61%), LinkedIn (60%) and YouTube (56%).

YouTube remains the highest-reaching social media service among UK online adults, with more than nine in ten (94%, 44.5m) visiting it in May 2024.

On average, YouTube adult visitors spent 47 minutes per day across smartphones, tablets or computers on the service in May 2024, with an average of 21 videos viewed. The average time spent viewing YouTube on a TV set increased by 31% to 15 minutes per day in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.

The research shows that men are more likely than women to have used a generative AI tool in the past year (50% vs 33%). The report said the top gen-AI tools were ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Snapchat My AI and Google Plugin. Almost half of UK internet users aged 16+ said they had used a generative AI tool in the past 12 months ‘for fun’ (48%), while 43% said they had used one for work and 23% for study.

Men spent 39% more time than women on the top 10 news services in May 2024 - 4 hours 49 minutes compared to 3 hours 28 minutes.