Gone are the days when Internet is the hub of techno-geeks and introverted young men. According to Nielsen NetRatings, net surfing in UK is now a mainstream activity across gender and age.

At this time, Internet usage is evenly divided between men and women – 48.4 percent female and 51.5 percent male. Moreover, men aged 50 and over are the largest male group online.

What’s more interesting is that women age 18-34 years old are the single most prevalent demographic group, accounting for 18% of all active online Britons.

“The Internet is no longer dominated by young male adults. Times have changed considerably and many will be very surprised to see that women aged 18-34 are now the most prevalent group online and that a quarter of the online population is at least 50 years of age. Companies who understand this composition when providing services or content through the web or simply advertising online will maximize their chances of success in the Internet of the future,” says Nielsen//NetRatings European Internet Analyst, Alex Burmaster.

Mature online markets like US and Europe attribute this seismic shift to high Internet access. Conversely, countries with limited Internet access are still dominated by young male adults.

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