近年来，社交网站取代了e-mail成为世界各地网络用户首选的交流工具。与此同时，在某些网络设备比较先进的富裕国家，手机等移动设备也开始逐渐取代传统电脑。

以上发现来源于伦敦市场研究公司TNS Global的一次大规模网络用户喜好研究。报告中，TNS Global收集了代表全球90%网络使用率的46个国家，合计5万多名网络用户反馈信息。

研究报告显示，尽管发达国家拥有更加先进的网络活动设备，但实际上拥有因特网服务的发展中国家网络活动更加活跃。对此，TNS公司研究员表示，这说明现在很多富裕国家的公民已经对网络习以为常，而真正对此更感兴趣的则是那些拥有良好互联网设备的发展中国家。

TNS公司开发总监Matthew Froggatt认为最近几年来网络市场发展迅速，人们对网络设备投资较为稳定，人们其实十分活跃于这种新交流渠道。数码世界改变了人们的生活、发展和交流互动的方式，而发展中国家的网络用户则比发达国家的用户更加享受其中。

有数据显示：马来西亚每个网络用户平均的好友数是233人，与之相比日本只有29人；中国用户网络是最高产的博客主，其中88%的网络用户曾有论坛发帖或撰写网络日记的经验，而这一数据在美国仅为32%；泰国网络用户中92%的人群在社交网站上传照片，这一数据在德国则是48%。

Social network

与其他发达国家一样，加拿大的网络用户人数也领先于发展中国家。但其中，曾在博客或论坛上发帖的用户仅占全国总用户的三分之一，上传照片到Facebook的仅有60%。每个加拿大网民的社交网站好友数平均是150人。

总的来说，世界很多地区的互联网用户仍然亲睐这项新技术，而互联网本身也通过社交网站得到了进一步的发展。以中国、拉丁美洲和中东地区为例，这些地区的网络用户花在社交网络的平均时间是5.2小时，电子邮件e-mail则是4小时。发达国家则与之相反，其中加拿大用户花费更多时间在电子邮件e-mail上，平均是4.6小时，而花在社交网站上的则是3.8小时。

研究者们相信社交网络的高使用率主要源自于黑莓、iPhone等手机设备的快速发展。比起加拿大，现在这类手机移动设备在很多发展中国家备受欢迎。

Apple iPhone

一般来说，世界各地的网络用户更加亲睐社交网站多于传统的电子邮件。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译）
Increase text size  Social networking sites are outpacing e-mail as the communication tool of choice for Internet users around the world as mobile devices gain ground over traditional computers. And on both fronts, the developing world is leading the way, ahead of wealthier countries with better online infrastructure.

The findings are contained in Digital Life, billed as the largest study ever done into consumers’ online preferences. The wide-ranging survey of nearly 50,000 Internet users in 46 countries that represent 90 per cent of the world’s Internet usage, was conducted by TNS Global, a London-based market research firm.

While developed countries usually have more infrastructure for online activities, the survey found that those in developing countries who have Internet access are more active online. TNS researchers said the finding indicated citizens of wealthier countries have come to take the Internet for granted, while those in well-connected developing countries are embracing the new technology.

“In rapid growth markets that have seen recent, sustained investment in infrastructure, users are embracing these new channels in much more active ways,” Matthew Froggatt, TNS chief development officer, said in a statement. “The digital world is transforming how they live, develop and interact and online consumers in these markets are leaving those in the developed world behind in terms of being active online and engaging in new forms of communications.”

The average social network user in Malaysia has 233 friends, compared to just 29 for Japan; Chinese users are the most prolific bloggers, with an astounding 88 per cent of the country’s wired population reporting having posted on an online forum or created their own web journal (that compares to just 32 per cent in the United States, for example); 92 per cent of Internet users in Thailand have uploaded photos to their social networking sites, compared to just 48 per cent of Germans.

Much like their compatriots in other wealthy countries, Canadians were outpaced by online consumers in the developing world. Less than a third of Canadians had posted on a blog or forum, about 60 per cent have uploaded photos to a social networking site. The average Canadian had 150 friends on their social networking site.

Overall, users in parts of the world that are still in the process of embracing the Internet are doing it increasingly via social networking: those in China, Latin America and the Middle East, for instance, spent 5.2 hours on their social networking sites and 4 hours on e-mail. Developed countries saw the reverse, with Canadian users spending 4.6 hours on e-mail and 3.8 on social networking sites.

Researchers believe the high levels of social networking use is linked to the growth of Internet connectivity via BlackBerries, iPhones and other mobile devices, which are more popular in the developing world than in Canada.

On average, online consumers around the world are favouring social networking sites over e-mail.（Source：Theglobeandmail）