High-speed broadband has helped bolster the popularity of social networking, it has been suggested.

Christopher Barnatt, associate professor of computing and organisations at Nottingham University's Business School, said that faster broadband connections have made such sites more accessible to users.

According to the IT expert, this has caused the number of people visiting social networks like Facebook and MySpace to "skyrocket" in recent years.

Speaking to the Derby Telegraph, Mr Barnatt pointed out that the affordability of fast broadband connections has also gone some way to help bolster the popularity of these websites.

He explained: "Reliable, low-cost and high-speed internet connections have become available, with about 90 per cent of UK users now having broadband at home.

"This has made it possible for people to exchange photos and video online, which in turn has improved the quality of the communication possible in social networking sites."

Mr Barnatt went on to say that the "addition of photos and video" helped to make social networks even more appealing to users.