Few doubt the impact that the advent of social media has had on daily lives over the last decade – all eight of the leading social networks now claim well over 100 million active monthly users worldwide.

But new research has revealed the staggering amount of time some Australians spend perusing social media every week, displacing traditional forms of media like TV, radio and magazines.

The average Australian aged over 14 spends almost six hours (340 minutes) on social media every week, according to Roy Morgan

The average 14-24-year-old Australian women more than doubles that figure, spending almost 14 hours (822 minutes) on social media every week, nearly two hours every day.

Women are on average more likely to spend longer on social platforms, but men between 14 – 24 spend an average of 528 minutes on social media every week.

While men over 14 spend an average of 287 minutes per week on social media, women spend 36 per cent more time perusing networks each week at 391 minutes.

Roy Morgan chief executive Michele Levine said Australians were engaging with various social networks for their own reasons, but that women were the clear leaders.

“In fact women of all ages spend more time on social media than men of the same age. On average Australian women spend 56 minutes per day on social media compared to 41 minutes per day for men. Over the course of a week this equates to a difference of almost two hours,” she said.

“Of course social media isn’t just one big market but rather differentiated by a large variety of overlapping and varied networks that appeal to different aspects of a user’s experience. Different Australians engage with social media in their own way and for their own reasons.”