• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, May 31, 2012

Women are heavier users of social media sites than men, at least in the U.K., according to a new survey of 2,000 Brits by BT (British Telecom). Over half of female respondents said they use social network sites like Twitter and Facebook, compared to just 34% of men surveyed.

Female respondents were more likely to cite social media as their favorite thing about the Internet, with 18% of women saying that if the Internet disappeared they would miss social media most, versus 7% of men. Male respondents were more likely to say they would miss the convenience of online activities like Web-based banking.

Women were also slightly more avid online gamers, with 9% of female respondents saying they play casual online games, compared to 8% of male respondents. However the roles were reversed for online video, with 14% of men using video-sharing Web sites like YouTube, Flickr and Vimeo, versus just 6% of female respondents.

Elsewhere in the Commonwealth, another survey found that a not insignificant number of Australians are so enamored of social media that they take it into the most private of sanctums -- the toilet. The poll of 1016 Aussie consumers by the Australian Interactive Media Industry Association and Yellow Pages found that 6% of Australians post to Facebook or tweet while on the john. Thirty-six percent of Aussies use social media at least once a day, and 10% said they use it at least five times a day.

The toilet isn’t the only private context Aussies are using social media: in December a survey by Tick Yes found that 3% of respondents admitted to checking social media during sex. Of course, Yanks are just as obsessive in their social media use -- possibly more so. In June 2010 a survey by Retrevo found that 11% of U.S. social media users under the age of 25 admitted to interrupting sex to check social media.