Pew’s Global Attitudes Project

Stat nerds, listen up! If you have not yet heard, the Pew Research Center has released data about the habits of consumers on the Internet and the way they (we) use digital media. The Pew Research Center is a veritable veteran in this regard, with its annual studies looking at various aspects of human behavior. Pew used to focus largely on American consumers, but this year, they have expanded a particular study to look at patterns and trends worldwide.

Thanks to Pew’s Global Attitudes Project, we now have insight about how people from 59 countries around the world use social media and the Internet in general. Pew’s Global Attitudes Project involves more than 300,000 interviews and covers a wide array of topics, but for our purposes, let’s narrow down our focus. And for clarity’s sake, only 21 nations were actually involved in the surveys for this particular aspect of the project.

The Highlights

Social Networking

You can read the entire report from Pew Global Attitudes Project but if you’re pressed for time, here are some of the most interesting findings.

• The UK has the highest percentage of people (52%) who use social networking sites, with the US and Russia coming a close second (50%).
• Talking about movies and music is the most popular activity on social networking sites. In the Arab world, however, the most common activity seems to be sharing opinions about politics, community issues, and religion. The opposite can be said of the countries in the west.

Mobile Phones

The data relating to mobile use is not really surprising. Basically, practically everyone has one.

Mobile Phone Stats

What people who can’t be seen without mobile phones in hand (presumably tweeting, updating Facebook, or checking in on Foursquare) might be surprised about is the fact that accessing the Internet via mobile phones is not that widespread yet.

Smartphones Meet Social Networks

The study shows that 12 out of the 21 countries have 6 out of 10 smartphone users who access social networks. The winners in this regard are:

• Egypt – 79%
• Mexico – 74%
• Greece – 72%

In the US, getting consumer information is a more popular activity using the smartphone.

Want more data? Take a look at the entire report here.

[Images via Japan Times and  Pew Research Center]