Study says China and Middle East nations lead digital age

By Evrlyn Young

China and countries in the Middle East are racing ahead of the West in embracing the Internet, according to "the largest ever" global study of online habits.

The result of the digital life study by global research firm TNS said that Egypt and China have much higher levels of digital engagement than mature markets such as Japan, Denmark or Finland, while blogging and social networking are gaining momentum rapidly in growth markets.

In Asia, the Internet is far more transformational when compared with developed Western markets, which are more functional, according to James Fergusson, TNS' global director for rapid growth and emerging markets.

The research shows four out of five online users in China and more than half of those in Brazil have written their own blog or forum entry, compared with only 32 percent in the US.

The study also found Malaysians are the most sociable online, with an average of 233 friends on social media websites, while the Japanese are the least friendly with just 29.

"It is probably due to our growing environment in which we are exposed to three languages - Malaysian, English and Chinese," said Evelyn Chia, a Malaysian student at the Communication University of China.

The official language of Malaysia is known as Bahasa Malaysia, while English remains a second language in the society. Chinese is also widely used, especially among ethnic Chinese who represent nearly one-fourth of the population.

Eva Lou, another Malaysian student in Beijing, also attributed their sociability to their multilingual skills, saying, "I have well over 200 friends online. Speaking three languages does us a lot of favors."

TNS said the study is the "largest-ever global research project into people's online activities and behavior," surveying almost 90 percent of the world's online population through 50,000 interviews in 46 countries.

It marks a global shift away from traditional media, with 61 percent of online users using the Internet daily, versus 54 percent for television, 36 percent for radio and 32 percent for newspapers.

AFP contributed to this story