Virgin Media

Virgin Media poll reveals over a quarter of women use the internet to spy on their partners

More than one in four women (28 per cent) have used the internet to secretly spy on their other half according to research released today by Virgin Media, the UK’s leading home broadband provider.

With almost nine out of ten (88 per cent) Brits surfing the internet daily and the rapid expansion of communication channels including social networking, emailing and instant messaging, it’s never been easier for women to snoop on their loved ones, leading to the rise of an ‘iSpy generation’.

Whether it’s flirting on Facebook or having banter on Bebo, the research, commissioned by Virgin Media to coincide with the national roll-out of its ultrafast 50Mb broadband service, reveals the fairer sex are almost twice as likely to spy on their partners using the internet than their male counterparts (16 per cent).

With Valentine’s Day only weeks away, it’s the under 35’s who need to become more romantic and learn to trust their partners more. The survey reveals that a massive 64 per cent of this age group have snooped on either a partner’s online communication or internet history without their knowledge.

Yorkshire leads the way as the nation’s most insecure area with 30 per cent of the county’s couples admitting to spying on each other via the internet, closely followed by those in the South (26 per cent) and the North East (25 per cent). In contrast, the Scots appear to be the most comfortable in their relationships with the lowest rate of online spying at 15 per cent.

Ashley Stockwell, managing director of brand and marketing at Virgin Media added;

“The internet has transformed the way we communicate and conversations can span the globe in a split second. The fact that so many people use the internet to keep in contact with friends, start romantic relationships and even spy on their partners, is a fascinating insight into the way we live our lives in the 21st century.”

To find out more about Virgin Media’s 50Mb service, visit www.virginmedia.com/50

Media contacts
Asam Ahmad, Virgin Media, 020 7909 2122 or asam.ahmad@virginmedia.co.uk

Notes to Editors
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 1,128 adults.

Virgin Media

About Virgin Media
With almost 10 million customers, Virgin Media is the UK's first quad-play provider of TV, broadband, phone and mobile.

Virgin Media is the largest residential broadband provider in the country, delivering next-generation internet access with ultrafast speeds of up to 50Mb using its unique fibre-optic cable network.

Virgin Media has the UK’s most advanced TV on demand service and is the only TV platform to carry BBC iPlayer. Virgin Media was the first to launch a high definition TV service and offers a high-specification, HD-ready V+ personal video recorder.

Virgin Media is the second-largest provider of pay TV and home phone in the UK and the largest virtual mobile network operator.

Virgin Media also owns two content businesses – Virgin Media Television (VMTV) and sit-up. VMTV owns eight entertainment channels, including Virgin1, Living, Bravo, Challenge and Trouble – and is a 50 per cent joint partner with the BBC in UKTV which consists of ten channels including Dave, G.O.L.D., Watch and Alibi. sit-up runs retail TV channels bid tv, price-drop tv and speed auction tv.

For more information, go to www.virginmedia.com.