Advertisement
Advertisement
Young Hongkongers mostly use mobile devices for access to the internet. Photo: May Tse

Young in Hong Kong more likely than in West to use mobile internet devices

Hongkongers born after 1980 are far more likely to use smartphones and tablets to connect to the internet than their counterparts in Britain and the United States, a survey has found.

Lai Ying-kit

Hongkongers born after 1980 are far more likely to use smartphones and tablets to connect to the internet than their counterparts in Britain and the United States, a survey has found.

In the survey, 71 per cent of Hong Kong respondents said they mostly used mobile devices, rather than PCs or laptops, for internet access. This compared to 30 per cent in Britain and 18 per cent in the US.

The poll of 1,000 Hongkongers aged 18 to 33 was conducted in April and May by communications consultancy Text100 and market research firm Redshift Research.

Text100's Asia-Pacific regional director Paul Mottram said visual content was increasingly important in the digital sphere and brands would have to do more to win over people in this age group.

"It will take more than just hilarious memes or flashy videos to truly engage the 'post-80s'," Mottram said, using a familiar term to describe those born in or after 1980. "It requires a high regard of the audience itself, what speaks to them and where they spend their time."

The respondents were asked to pick which type of device they most frequently used to surf the internet, and answer questions about their internet habits.

Just 18 per cent of respondents in Hong Kong relied mostly on PCs and laptops, while 76 per cent in the US and 64 per cent in Britain used them as their main means of internet access.

Facebook and YouTube were the most popular social media platforms for Hong Kong respondents, at 97 and 91 per cent, respectively.

Instagram was almost twice as popular with Hong Kong respondents as with their Western counterparts.

Twitter had more users among British respondents, at 63 per cent, with Hong Kong and the US at 51 per cent. Half of the respondents in Hong Kong said they had a habit of sharing photos, compared to 34 per cent in Britain and 37 per cent in the US.

Hong Kong internet users were also more likely to share videos and articles.

Only 7 per cent in Hong Kong shared computer-games-related content compared to 14 per cent in Britain and 8 per cent in the US.

 

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Young surfers more mobile in HK
Post