In its sixth Digital Media Index (ODMI), Orange UK has provided an accurate report regarding the ways digital media is consumed in its mobile network. The results published by Orange show that there are many interesting differences between men and women when it comes to the use of their handsets.

The social-networking sites continue to rise in popularity and it seems that men are more likely to spend time, view more Internet pages and keep in touch with friends via mobile apps. They are accounting for over 64% of unique users and also view 33% more pages on social-networking sites compared to women. ‘Celebrities’ seems to be the most searched for term, with Cheryl Cole being the most searched celebrity.

Men also use their mobile devices regularly to get the latest news in sporting events. The largest data transfers are recorded on Saturdays, handsets now being the easiest and most modern means of keeping up-to-date with the latest football scores while on the go. Men account for over 57% of the customers accessing Orange World in order to get sport updates.

Sport is currently the main driver for mobile TV and more popular with men than women, accounting for 50% of mobile TV consumed. Sky Sports 1 is the most popular mobile TV channel, accounting for more than 24% of users. The increasing use of smartphone technology drives more and more people to experiment with new technologies. Over 75% of mobile videos and 71% of mobile TV clips were purchased by men. Usually, the content of these clips is comical (“South Park”) and is mostly used to pass the time while traveling.

Mobile gaming seems to be popular for both genders, the only difference being in the type of games each category plays. Men play time-related games such as Tetris, while women find strategic games like Sims or Monopoly more enjoyable.

Reports show that women send more text and picture messages than men, this difference increasing with age. Women over 60 years old send 48% more text messages than the men in the same age group. Texting still remains one of the most popular methods of communication, with over 63 million SMS messages sent daily. Mobile data continues to grow, accounting for more than 5.34 million subscribers that are currently using Orange 3G mobile handsets and over 435,000 Gb of data being transferred each month.