Article on the BBC News site:

Internet users do not deserve their reputation for being socially inadequate loners, a study has found. Despite jibes that computer users meet their friends online, researchers say they are actually more likely to be sociable and community minded.

Professor Andrew Oswald and Dr Jonathan Gardner, from the University of Warwick, found that people who regularly used the internet were also more likely to be better educated and to earn more.

Professor Oswald told the BBC: "This research should be very useful in overturning some common stereotypes. We discovered internet users are better citizens and more likely to be members of community groups and voluntary organisations.

"It appears the web is helping to strengthen the quality of British society. Internet users are among the best citizens not the worst."

The professors concluded that internet users were sociable after discovering that 30% belonged to a community group, compared to less than a quarter of non-users.

People who went online regularly were also 50% more likely to be regular church-goers and were more trusting than average.

The amount of time spent on the internet was also a good indicator of earnings. Almost two thirds of people taking home more than £32,000 a year use the internet, compared with just 9% of those earning between £6,000 and £12,000.

More than seven out of 10 graduates use the web, but only one in 10 people with no qualifications do so.

The study also discovered that 40% of men use the internet, compared with 28% of women. Men spent an average of 3.5 hours a week online, compared with 2.5 hours for women.

The findings will be published later this week in the 18th British Social Attitudes report.

This Research clearly missed one or two social inadequates who pop onto here every now and again to regale us with their wit & wisdom!

-- Anonymous, November 25, 2001

Answers

Christ I wish I could restrict it to 3.5hrs per week.

-- Anonymous, November 25, 2001

What do you mean - a week? SOme of us wish we could restrict it to that much a day (or shift, in Clarky's case)

-- Anonymous, November 25, 2001

Is that 3.5 hours for the 40% of men who use it, or all men in the UK?

-- Anonymous, November 25, 2001

...... yes. ;o{)

-- Anonymous, November 25, 2001

:)

-- Anonymous, November 25, 2001

I now have a worrying image of clarky running a transvestite website and spending 3.5 hours infront of a webcam wearing a shift...

-- Anonymous, November 25, 2001

Thankfully I don't have that same image...

-- Anonymous, November 25, 2001

.... damn, I thought I'd switched that bloody camera off!

Me @rse doesnt look fat in this does it?

$o{]

-- Anonymous, November 25, 2001

No more than usual..............;-)

-- Anonymous, November 25, 2001