With a total of 4.9 million users, SA ranks 29th in the world when it comes to the number of Facebook users per country.
This is according to the 2011 International Telecommunication Union's (ITU's) “Measuring the Information Society Report”, which also placed SA at number 97 on its “ICT Development Index”. However, a recent study by World Wide Worx found that the country has approximately 4.2 million Facebook users.
“Statistics on the number of Facebook users are widely cited, especially given their impressive growth rates over the past few years, but little is published about how those statistics are compiled, or what they actually represent,” the ITU notes in its report.
“For example, a comparison of Facebook user data and Internet user data for some developing countries show there to be as many Facebook users as Internet users, whereas it can reasonably be assumed that not every Internet user is also on Facebook. How then can these numbers be explained?”
The UN body concludes by pointing out that until answers to some of these questions are known, Facebook country-level 'user' statistics should be treated with caution, particularly when making comparisons with Internet user statistics.
However, Spiwe Chireka, a senior analyst at market research firm IDC, believes the bulk of Facebook access should be through mobile devices. She adds that the highly competitive mobile data market is driving down the cost of connectivity, making it affordable for the youth segment, which is the typical driver for the uptake and usage of social media.
In its report, the ITU points out that the share of mobile phone owners who use their mobiles for accessing social networking applications such as Facebook, Twitter, MXit, etc, has grown rapidly.
On the other hand, Walter Brown, project manager at the South African Communications Forum, says fashion is the major driver of most social networks and systems.
However, he points out that SA needs much more than Facebook or YouTube to develop. “The next challenge is to make PCs affordable - we could learn from Brazil, which refurbishes all old PCs for use by the poor in shanty townships, often with long-term repayment plans.
“They are also building PC manufacturing facilities that will drive prices down. We could, of course, be serious about using TVs as Internet access devices together with the digital migration programme, but we have to be decisive and provide good leadership to do this.”
Share