Lesbians and gay men more likely to read blogs and use online networks

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A US survey has found that lesbians and gay men are among nation’s heaviest users of internet blogs and social networking sites.

The study, conducted online by Harris Interactive, asked 2,412 adults, including 341 LGBT people, about their internet habits and oversampled lesbian and gay people.

It found that 54 per cent of lesbians and gay men read blogs, compared to 40 per cent of straight people. The figure for gay people had risen from only 32 per cent in November 2006.

Thirty-six per cent of lesbians and gay men said they read news and current affairs blogs, compared to 25 per cent of heterosexuals. A quarter (25 per cent ) of gay and lesbian adults also read entertainment and pop culture blogs, compared to 16 per cent of heterosexuals.

This trend continued with politics and travel blogs, while one-third (35 per cent) of gay readers said they looked at lesbian and gay news and interest websites.

More than half (53 per cent) of these readers also say they visit gay and lesbian websites weekly, and one in five (19 per cent) do so daily.

PinkNews.co.uk is the largest LGBT news service in the UK and the second largest globally, with 650,000 unique users a month.

The survey also found that social networking sites are more popular with gays and lesbians than they are with heterosexuals.

Seventy-three per cent of gay and lesbian adults said they were on Facebook, compared to 65 per cent of heterosexual adults. Also, 32 per cent of gay and lesbian respondents report being members of MySpace, compared to 22 per cent of heterosexual respondents.

On LinkedIn, the business-oriented social networking site, 22 per cent of gay and lesbian respondents report being members, while just 16 per cent of heterosexuals said the same.

Finally, nearly three out of ten (29 per cent) gay men and lesbians report they are members of Twitter, compared to just 15 per cent heterosexual adults.

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