MEN'S use of the internet to watch porn and play video games may be harming their relationships by distracting them from their partner, an Oxford researcher has found.

The research published in the Journal of Marital and Family Therapy concluded that men who used the web more often had less satisfied partners.

Women, conversely, were more likely to have happy boyfriends, girlfriends, husbands or wives if they did text or use social media more.

Co-author Dr Bernie Hogan of the Oxford Internet Institue said men's internet activities were more likely to distract them from a relationship, while women were more likely to use it to chat to friends and family, meaning they came back to the relationship 'refreshed'.