The study has also found there are six distinct social personalities among active social networkers.

Research by online usage analysts Hitwise UK and Hitwise Australia shows users spend 7.6 per cent (UK) and 8 per cent (Australia) of their internet time on social networking sites.

The UK research showed 45 per cent of all 18-24 users said they would rather spend a spare 15 minutes on a social networking site instead of in front of the TV, reading, talking on their mobile or playing video games.

In Australia there are more than 1.2 million users in the 18-24 year-old bracket who class themselves as active online users according to the research with 25 per cent saying they'd give TV a miss to spend more time on a social networking site.

Other changes in behaviour among respondents included 43 per sending or receiving more emails, 25 per cent increased their use of IM (instant messages) and 22 per cent decreased their use of video games.

The Hitwise Australia findings also revealed the average session time for MySpace users was 27 minutes and 46 seconds while Facebook members spent 21 minutes and 15 seconds on the site.

Other online categories could only manage an average of around 12 minutes.

Rebekah Horne, vice president of MySpace Australia and New Zealand, says social networkers are changing the way young people are living their lives and creating a new place to start trends.

"While MySpace will always be a great way to communicate with friends, the site has evolved into the centre of people's online and offline lives," she said.

"MySpace is now a collaborative and creative hub that allows people to keep up to date with, comment on, and define the wider cultural scene."

The UK research, conducted by Future Laboratory, included interviews with 2500 people over a period of six weeks.

The results also showed six key personalities among social networkers.

These include Netrepreneurs, who use social networking to make money, and Connectors who are constantly passing on links of things they think their friends will like to read.

Then there's Transumers - users who follow the lead of others and join groups along with Collaborators who to create groups and events with the help of their online friends.

Scene breakers describe the users who join social networks to be part of a new scene while Essentialists cover those who use sites like Facebook and MySpace to stay in touch with friends and family.
What social networking personality do you have?

 Netrepreneur - person who uses social networking sites only to generate an income.

 Connector - defines the person who is always passing on links to things their friends might find interesting.

 Transumer - an observer who grazes on the content of others instead of creating their own.

 Collaborator - user who tries to create events, activities and groups with the help of their friends.

 Scene Breaker - early adopters who want to be part of a new online scene, movement or trend.

 Essentialist - person who uses social networking sites to stay in touch with friends and family.