Internet Insights From China

That&'s why I read, with interest, a recent report on the way citizens in China are using the Internet. The survey is conducted by the Research Center for Social Development of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences of Beijing along with the Markle Foundation in New York. To read a full copy of the survey travel to this link.

But here are some highlights.

First off, the study found that about half of the estimated 103 million Internet users in China has broadband access. Most are younger than 30, single and living in urban areas, and they seem to have a fascination with entertainment or news about entertainment.

Professor Guo Liang, who works with the Chinese Academy to conduct the survey, reports that the Internet is very much a social medium for Chinese users, many of whom prefer instant messaging to e-mail.

Another interesting finding: only 48 percent of the users believe that Internet content is reliable and many believe certain types of information should be controlled, such as pornography, violence and "junk messages." (BTW, One point to that last finding: China routinely appears as No. 2 on the list of top spam origination countries, second only to the United States.)

Also worth noting: The survey was conducted not online but door-to-door in February and March in five cities, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Changsha. The sample size was 2,376 people.