A recent research, by TNS research firm, on online behaviour around the world has revealed that Malaysians have the most friends on social networking sites. However, the same cannot be said of Japanese users, who appeared to have the fewest number of friends. Social network users in Malaysia averaged 233 friends, closely followed by Brazil, 231 friends and Norway with 217 friends.
The study also reveals that Malaysians are also the heaviest users of social networking Web sites, spending an average of nine hours per week on them. Although this is not very far from Russians who spend an average of 8.1 hours per week and Turkish users with 7.7 hours. Furthermore, according to the research, digital sources appear to be fast becoming the preferred media channels for 61% of Internet users around the world, overtaking television, radio and newspapers.
The increase in mobile Internet access also means that users are spending more time on social networking sites than using email. For example, a third of US online consumers expect to be accessing social networks through mobile devices over the next year, compared to a quarter who cited the traditional PC.
Core data from the study: is available here.
Talking Point
How many ‘friends’ do you have on social networking Web sites such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter?