杏吧原创

Far from being friendless 鈥渘erds鈥�, internet users lead more sociable lives than non-surfers, according to new research in the UK.

A survey of 2500 randomly selected Britons revealed that internet users are more likely to belong to a community group, voluntary organisation or to go to church regularly. They also tend to be better paid and more educated than non-users.

There is a huge divide between those who surf and those who don鈥檛, says Andrew Oswald at Warwick University, who carried out the study. But contrary to popular opinion surfers are not slouched over their computer all day, he says: 鈥淭hey simply watch less television.鈥�

Real world

Oswald says fears that the internet would discourage people from forming 鈥渞eal-world鈥� social relationships have proved unfounded. 鈥淧eople who worried about what the internet would do to society probably didn鈥檛 envisage they way things are now,鈥� say Oswald. 鈥淭he internet is likely to foster ordinary relationships.鈥�

According to the study regular internet users are as much as 50 per cent more likely to go to church every week. Thirty per cent of regular internet users also belong to some sort of community group, compared to 23 percent of non-users.

The study also suggests that internet use is heavily skewed towards the more educated 鈥� 72 per cent of graduates said they used the internet regularly, compared to nine per cent of those with no education.