ZDNet |UK| - News - Story - Net users not loners, finds study Internet users don't sacrifice their social lives to go online - they just watch less television

The stereotype of Internet users as fusty types confined to their bedrooms is false, a new study suggests.
Research by the University of Warwick shows that Web surfers are more likely than non-surfers to belong to voluntary organisations and showed a greater tendency to trust others.


Professor Andrew Oswald, who headed the research as part of a report on social attitudes, said although net users are usually young men they are frequently very sociable.
The study showed that nearly 30 percent of Internet users belonged to a community group, compared with under a quarter for non-users. They were 50 percent more likely to be regular churchgoers and generally watched less television than those without internet access.
Professor Oswald said: "They don't leave out their friends and family because they spend time hunched over their computer -- they simply watch less television."