It's not just Americans who are flooding Facebook, Twitter, and their ilk. A new study on the international growth of online social networks conducted by the market research firm TNS has revealed that users in South America and some parts of Asia have even more zeal for social networking. While Americans view the internet as an information tool first, with sites like Facebook as diverting "time-wasters," says Cliff Kuang at Fast Company, many Asians "view the internet as a social tool first." Here's a data snapshot of the study's findings:
50,000 people
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46
Number of countries the respondents represented
233
Average number of friends Malaysians have on social networks
231
Average number of friends Brazilians have on social networks
178
Average number of friends Americans have on social networks
68
Average number of friends Chinese people have on social networks
29
Average number of friends Japanese people have on social networks
88 percent
Share of Chinese online users who have written their own blog or forum entry
51 percent
Share of Brazilian online users who have written their own blog or forum entry
32 percent
Share of American online users who have written their own blog or forum entry
70 percent
Share of Indonesians who rank social networking as the most important function of the internet, above email, news, shopping, sports, weather, and education
17 percent
Share of Americans who rank social networking as the most important function of the internet. Over half (51 percent) name email as the most essential internet tool
61 percent
Share of the international online population that prefers being online to watching TV, listening to radio, and reading newspapers
Sources: TNS, CNN, BBC News, The Atlantic, Fast Company
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