Global web users spending more time on social networks
Web users across 10 countries spent an average of five and a half hours on social networks in February 2010, up more than two hours from the same time last year, according to new research from The Nielsen Company.
While the US boasts the largest unique social networking audience on average, Italian and Australian web surfers led the way for average time on site with more than six hours each in February, said Nielsen.
Users in the UK spent an average of five hours and 50 minutes on social networks in February.
| Country | Time per Person (hh:mm:ss) |
|---|---|
| Average | 05:27:33 |
| Italy | 06:27:53 |
| Australia | 06:25:21 |
| United States | 06:02:34 |
| United Kingdom | 05:50:56 |
| Spain | 04:50:49 |
| Brazil | 04:27:54 |
| France | 04:12:01 |
| Germany | 03:47:24 |
| Switzerland* | 03:26:00 |
| Japan | 02:37:07 |
Across the 10 countries measured, Facebook drew the largest active unique audience globally and claimed nearly three times the sessions per user of MySpace, the next closest network.
Facebook users also spent more time per session, logging nearly six hours per user across the globe.
Recent research from consumer electronics site Retrevo.com found that 48% of US social media users check Facebook and Twitter in bed, during the night or as soon as they wake up in the morning.
The Retrevo.com research also found that iPhone users access Facebook and Twitter more often and in more places than non-iPhone users.
According to a comScore study, 30.8% of US smartphone users accessed social networking sites via their mobile in January 2010, a 22.5% year on year increase.