Stark differences in the online lives of men and women in the UK have been revealed in Ofcom’s annual report into the nation’s digital habits.

Women across all adult age groups now spend more time online compared to men, according to Ofcom’s study from data collected over May this year. On average, women spent 4 hours and 36 minutes daily on smartphones, tablets, and computers, thirty-three minutes more than men, who averaged 4 hours and 3 minutes per day.

Ofcom’s research shows this gender gap is at its most extreme among ‘Gen Z’ internet users. Women aged 18-24 spend more than an hour longer each day online than their male counterparts, at an average of 6 hours 36 minutes, versus 5 hours 28 minutes for men.

Looking at the top 10 social media websites and apps, 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%).

The study found that although women in general engage more heavily in the online world, they’re more likely than men to feel they have a good balance between their screen-time and real-world activities (69% vs. 66%).

However, women are generally more skeptical about the personal and societal benefits of the internet compared to men. 

The figures show that 65% of women believe the benefits of the online world outweigh the risks, compared to 70% of men. Similarly, just 34% of women think the internet is a positive force for society, significantly lower than the 47% of men who share that view.

Women are also more concerned than men about the potential for harm online, with more women worried about extremism (87% vs 77%), human trafficking (86% vs 76%), suicide (86% vs 77%), female genital mutilation (85% vs 74%) and hateful or offensive content (83% vs 67%) than men.

When it comes to actual experience of online harms, men are more likely to encounter misinformation (41% vs 37%), scams or fraud (36% vs 31%) and hateful content (27% vs 24%).

On the other hand, women are more likely to experience unwelcome friends or follow requests (30% vs 26%), misogynistic content (23% vs 19%) and body image related content (21% vs 13%). 

When it comes to familiarity with emerging technologies, men were more likely than women to have used genAI tools in the past year (50% vs 33%), however women reported being more concerned about the risks of using genAI (17% vs 11%).

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From next month, tech firms will have to meet the requirements of the UK’s new online safety laws, starting with tackling the most harmful, illegal content. 

In October, Ofcom warned tech firms that they could face enforcement action if they don’t comply with new duties set out under the Online Safety Act, with the regulator set to publish the first edition of illegal harms codes and guidance, leaving platforms three months to complete illegal harms risk assessments. 

Ofcom has said that specific guidance for services on how to make online life safer for women and girls, as well as new Codes of Practice to protect children, will follow in the first months of 2025.

Some of the biggest social media firms have already made changes to protect vulnerable users from online harm, for instance Meta releasing new tools to safeguard Instagram users against sextortion and increase parental controls over the accounts of children and teens, although Meta in particular has faced backlash over its decision to lower the minimum age required to have WhatsApp from 16 to 13 in the UK and the EU.