Brits spend 86 hours a year 'stalking' strangers online using social media - but men and women have different methods

Be honest, how often have you been Facebook oggling at someone's wedding snaps, judging the dresses and trying to work out what shoes the bride has gone for before realising that, not only do you not know the bride or the groom, but you're not sure you know anyone at the wedding at all. In fact, how on earth did you get access to these pictures? And why are you on number 43 of 211?

Whether your internet stalking has gone that far or if you're still in the shallow waters of taking a quick peek at your ex's new girlfriend's holiday snaps, you'll be pleased (if not surprised) to learn that you're very much not alone. Brits spend a whopping 86 hours every year 'stranger stalking' online using social media.

So next time you think you don't have time to exercise/cook/read a book/do your tax return, think of those 86 wasted hours and what you could have done with them.

According to research by VoucherCodesPro.co.uk, the top five online stalking activities are checking up on an ex's new love interest, browsing random profiles of attractive individuals, investigating unknown friends and family of your partner, checking out your partner's work colleagues and browsing strangers with similar interests to you (found through Facebook groups etc.).

[Facebook encourages unhealthy snacking]
[Majority of parents use Facebook to check up on their children]
[Does your online profile need a clear up?]

Every day we spend an average 14.2 minutes stalking on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Instagram and other social media platforms, but it turns out men and women stalk rather differently. Women were found to be more likely to look up love interests of their former partners, while men were found to be three times as likely to browse random profiles of people they found attractive.

Worryingly, 14 per cent of the respondents admitted to creating fake profiles to allow them to further stalk strangers - which sounds rather sinister.

George Charles, spokesperson for VoucherCodesPro.co.uk, commented about the results:
 
“Once one takes into account just how many romantic and platonic relationships are formed, and then finish online and over social media, it doesn’t seem as surprising.”
 
“I think just about everyone who has recently dealt with a break-up can appreciate how overwhelming the temptation can sometimes be not to spend hours and hours scouring the internet for information on how they are dealing with it.

"Having said that, it is of some concern that 14 per cent of respondents admitted to creating fake profiles in order to “stranger stalk” on social media. I would strongly suggest some of those people log off their computers for now!”

Are you a 'stranger stalker'? Tell us on Twitter, if you dare...