You’d be forgiven for thinking the opposite might be true, given that most guys love nothing more than to show off their latest gadgets and demonstrate their expertise with all things technical. But, from a social viewpoint at least, you might be shocked to learn that girls are streets ahead.

A new infographic from the web marketing firm Digital Flash NY reveals that in the battle of the social sexes, women are in the ascendency – dominating the big three social media networks by some distance from their male counterparts. Girls account for 58% of all Twitter users, 64% of all Facebook users, and a staggering 82% of all Pinterest users.

And if those statistics raise a few eyebrows then get ready for this one: girls also account for 55% of all online gamers!

That’s right, even the world of Mafia Wars and Texas Hold ‘em cannot escape the gender switch. Given the popularity of such ‘girly’ games as Bejeweled Blitz, Bubble Safari and Pet Society, this probably shouldn’t come as a surprise, but what is more surprising is the age of these female gamers –Digital Flash notes that many of them are older, with “women over the age of 55 spending more time playing games online than males in the 15 to 24 and 25 to 34 age groups combined”.

The social sphere isn’t entirely female dominated of course. Google + and LinkedIn both retain significantly more male users than women, while the social news site Reddit is literally bursting at the seams with testosterone, with 84% of its users being male. The last statistic I can most definitely believe, given the way abuse and obscenities are so casually tossed around by its users!

Interestingly, Tagged, which for many users seems to be the favorite place to hook up with members of the opposite sex, is the only social media website to have an almost equal gender balance: 51% for girls, 49% for guys.

As to the reasons why social media seems to be more popular with girls, Digital Flash didn’t really provide any answers…

But then, this should be fairly obvious really, shouldn’t it? The word “social” says it all. Just stick a few random strangers in the same room together for a few minutes and see what happens. Who’s more likely to start chatting first, the girls or the boys?