32% of LGBT net users online more than 24 hours a week
A recent survey of internet use in the USA has shown that gays, lesbians and bisexuals are online more often than their straight counterparts.
The study also revealed that sites like youtube.com, MySpace and Friendster are more popular with LGBT surfers than with heteros.
Excluding email, nearly twice as many gays and lesbians (32%) say they are online between 24 and 168 hours per week, compared to 18 percent of heterosexuals.
The survey of over 2,500 adults, conducted by Harris interactive, also revealed that gays are twice as likely to visit blogs.
24% of gay, lesbian and bisexual individuals said they regularly visit personal blogs or journals, compared to 12 percent of heterosexuals.
36% of gay internet users visit their favourite blogs every day. Gay men, lesbians and bisexuals are also much more receptive to advertising on blogs compared to heterosexuals (22% vs. 9%).
youtube.com, where users share video content, was visited by 27% of LGBT netheads for up to an hour a week, compared with 22% of straight users.
Bob Witeck, CEO of Witeck-Combs Communications, said, “We have consistently benchmarked strong online usage by the gay community.
“Gays and lesbians have shown their need to build and maintain an early and major presence on the web that translates directly into significant market opportunities. Social networks also appear to be second nature for the gay and lesbian consumer.”
