Sunday, 8 March 2015

Battle of the sexes: Singers, models and WAGs are among most followed women on social media... but top men are sports stars, politicians and academics

Women who eagerly check to see how many followers they have on social media could be wasting their time - unless they're a singer, TV star, model, actress or have a famous lover.

According to new research, a total of 92 per cent of the 200 most followed women on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and other forms of social media belong to just one of those five categories.

The vast majority of female followers, some 86 per cent, were also female aged 20 and under.

Katy Perry (left) is the most followed female on social media and Swedish video gamer and YouTube vlogger PewDiePie (right) based in Brighton is the most followed male

Taylor Swift comes second to her pop rival Katy Perry in the most-followed on social media stakes

By comparison, the top 200 most followed men represent a far broader professional spectrum which includes comedians, music producers, business figures, politicians, religious figures, authors, world leaders, sports stars, academics and film directors.

Researchers say the findings highlight the stark difference between the sexes and how female and male role models are perceived.

The study also explored how the type of content women seek on social media is heavily dependent on their age profile.

Experts say the results show that female tastes change as women grow older, with 34 pinpointed as the age at which social media savvy women look to more diverse, content-heavy and feminist role models.

Justin Bieber, who has a colossal 61.1million Twitter followers comes second to Swedish vlogger PewDiePie

PewDiePie, who's real name is Felix Kjellberg, is the male leader in social media

The study was carried out by Starcount, the fan science company which measures the global tastes and trends across 12 of the world’s largest social media networks and The Female Lead, a not-for-profit organisation which is dedicated to making women’s stories more visible and showing how they shape the world.

Bea Appleby, editor of The Female Lead, said more needs to be done to promote dynamic women.

'Social media has been heralded as a democratising force – a new form of media created away from the formal constraints of the traditional media,' she said.

'And in lots of instances, this is true. However, our research demonstrates that the most popular females on social media present a more one-dimensional portrayal of womanhood than their male counterparts.

Singer Ariana Grande (left) is a newcomer to the charts but she's already a power player on social media coming in at fourth, just after Colombian megastar Shakira (right) how is third most followed on social media

'In order to inspire young women to realise their potential across a range of professions, we need to present a broader range of dynamic female role models that they can aspire to.

'This is something we are seeking to address at The Female Lead, by profiling amazing and successful women, from scientists to chefs, from architects to entrepreneurs, and everything in between.

'We want young women to understand that success and satisfaction can come from a variety of professions and vocations, not merely from celebrity status.'

According to the research, 80,000 people described themselves as 'feminists' on Twitter, with the word appearing in 33,000 tweets, 'sexism' in 22,000 and 'harassment' in 19,000.

Of those who said they were feminists, 62 per cent were aged over 50 years old.

Brazilian footballer Neymar is fourth most followed man on social media, coming in after Cristiano Ronaldo who is third - just pipped by Justin Bieber who takes the second slot