Facebook is Hong Kong's top digital platform in survey commissioned by company

Facebook outranks popular messaging applications WhatsApp and WeChat as the most favoured digital platform in Hong Kong, according to a survey commissioned by the social network.

The survey, conducted by market researchers TNS in January, found that 91 per cent of 1,068 respondents said Facebook was the main social network they used, followed by WhatsApp, Yahoo, YouTube and WeChat.

Of those surveyed, 44 per cent said Facebook was where they first read about breaking news.

Eric Tan of TNS said this figure was "alarming" and that users were "multisourcing" their information now. "The exposure to information is no longer about consumers consuming media, but they are being forced, in that they are being exposed to it when they open up Facebook."

This is the first time Facebook has released such comprehensive details about the habits of its Hong Kong users and is seen by many as part of its push to capture more advertising dollars from Hong Kong and mainland businesses.

About 4.4 million people in Hong Kong use Facebook, and spend 13 minutes on average each time they log on.