Yes, according to research firm TNS,
which recently surveyed roughly 2500 Web users in each of 16 countries
around the world, including the U.S., U.K., China, Japan, Korea and
Australia.
According to survey results, China's Internet users are more likely
than their counterparts anywhere else to describe as "fun" a whole
array of Web-based activities, including blogs, message boards, forums,
online video and wikis.
Chinese Web users are also very active in their online participation, especially when compared to Westerners.
"Web 2.0 is far more advanced in Asia, and in China, than in the
U.S. and Europe," says Bernice Klaassen, head of interactive research
at TNS Singapore. In Western countries, about 1% of users create online
content, about 10% participate through methods like comments or
discussions and the rest are lurkers," he says. Meanwhile, in China,
Mr. Klaassen says the proportion of active participants is closer to
50%, with a significantly greater share of Web users blogging
regularly, participating in online forums, and sharing video and music.
Perhaps not surprisingly, being so active takes more time. On
average, respondents from China said they spend 44% of their free time
online. Americans only spent an average of 30% of their leisure time
using the Internet.
"The usage of the Web and the role it plays in people's lives is
completely different in China than it is in the U.S.," says Mr.
Klaassen "The platforms may be the same but the behavior is totally
different... The usage in the U.S. is a lot more pragmatic."
At the recent Chinese blogger conference in Guangzhou, we asked
participants about how they see the differences in Web usage between
China and the West. Check out the responses in the video below.
Of course, part of the difference may also be explained by the
varying demographics of Web users. In China, only about 20% of the
population uses the Internet, and those who do tend to be younger, more
urbanized and relatively wealthier than the general population. In more
mature Internet markets such as the United States and western Europe,
where most people are online, the Internet population more closely
reflects the general population.
-Sky Canaves
