Social networking beats entertainment as UK's favourite online activity

Facebook and Twitter registered 2.4bn Internet visits in the UK in January

New data has revealed that social networking sites have surpassed entertainment sites as the most popular online activity for Britons.

A report by online intelligence provider Experian Hitwise found that during January this year, social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter registered 2.4bn Internet visits in the UK and accounted for 12.4% of all UK Internet traffic.

They dislodged entertainment sites, such as BBC iPlayer, ITV Player and Sky Sports.com from the most preferred Internet destinations.

Facebook led among the social networking sites accounting for 56% of the UK's social networking traffic during January. YouTube and Twitter came in second and third place respectively.

Social networks also claimed more online minuets of Internet users in the UK with 22 minutes average session time spent on the sites in January 2011.

Experian Hitwise's Research Director Robin Goad attributed the change to Facebook's growing reach. Last month Facebook announced that it now has about half of the population of the UK or 30 million registered users.

Analysts also say the new trend is because social networks are also hosting content from entertainment sites based on recommendations of friends.

Goad said, "This [the trend] doesn't mean people are no longer visiting entertainment or content sites, but it just means they are now interacting more with the material they watch often first via a social network."

Among the most visited entertainment sites, YouTube topped the list, followed by the BBC Homepage and BBC iPlayer.

LinkedIn and Tumblr are other popular social networks in the UK during January 2011.

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