Young adults use mobile web browsing to network.

A report released this week has found that social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter have greatly boosted the rate at which mobile phone web browsing has grown. 

CCS Insight, a communications market research company, has unveiled results of the report, which looked at mobile internet habits based on the responses of more than 1,000 adults, aged between 16 and 35.

Results revealed that the increasing need to access social networking websites such as Facebook is driving growth, with a third of young adults frequently accessing the sites through their mobile phone.

Other findings included: a demand for the accessibility of BBC iPlayer through mobile phones; and an expectation that music and video content should be free.

Paolo Pescatore, Head of Mobile Content at CCS Insight, commented: “The web is revolutionising the way people use mobile phones. Forget music downloads and video – social networking is what people want. Media owners and operators will have to find new ways to make money from their assets.”

He went on to say that the industry needs to do a better job of marketing to women, as results from the research have shown that men are twice as likely as women to access the web using their mobile phone.

The male/female population has shown differences in their mobile usage for some years. Mobile marketing firm, Enpocket, reported in 2004 the stark difference in mobile usage by the two genders. Even at this point, men were predominantly using their handsets for gaming, while women led the ringtone download craze.