世論 What Japan Thinks

DIMSDRIVE Research recently released the results of their research into the subject of Social Networking Services (SNS). Between the 24th of January and the first of February 4,489 members of their internet monitor group successfully completed a private internet-based questionnaire.

Demographics

55.5% of the sample was female, 1.0% were in their teens, 16.7% in their twenties, 37.5% in their thirties, 28.8% in their forties, 11.6% in their fifties, and 4.4% aged sixty or older. Note that were just 11 boys and 32 girls in the teenage group, so I will not mention them in the main text as the groups are too small to draw any statistical conclusions from. There were also just 46 women over sixty, also just slightly too small.

Last time I translated a survey on mixi I did ask, and then received, an invitation, but I must report that it has sat in my inbox gathering dust ever since then. This blog occasionally gets linked from within mixi, so I’m curious to find out who is doing it, but I don’t know if I really have the time to dive head-first into the site. Perhaps I’ll just be one of the 15.9% in Q3 who barely log in at all?

Research Results

Q1: Do you know about Social Networking Services (SNS)? (Sample size=4,489)

Yes	47.7%
Just heard the term	38.7%
No	13.6%

There was a very definite trend of awareness visible, with over three in four men in their twenties knowing about SNS, dropping to just three in ten of those aged sixty or older. Women were less aware, suprisingly to me, with just two thirds of those in their twenties with knowledge, dropping to a mere one in four of those in their fifties.

Q2: Are you a registered member of an SNS? (Sample size=4,489)

Currently registered (to Q3)	29.3%
Used to be, but not now (to Q7)	3.2%
Never registered (to Q8)	67.5%

Over half of those in their twenties were registered, versus less than one in ten aged sixty or older.

Q3: Currently, about how often do you use an SNS? (Sample size=1,317)

Use just about every day	42.6%
Sometimes use it	41.5%
Almost never use it (to Q8)	15.9%

Q4: Currently, which SNSs do you use? (Sample size=1,108, multiple answer)

mixi	90.3%
GREE	8.6%
Yahoo! Days	8.4%
Rakuten Links	3.2%
MySpace	3.2%
Kinugasa	2.3%
orkut	0.8%
Other	8.5%

The others included livedoor flavour, Any, Lococom, So-net SNS, cafesta, Yubitoki, and A.B.S.F.C. and others.

By age, mixi had 96.7% of the marketshare of those in their twenties, 89.7% of those in their thirties, 86.1% of those in their forties, 79.2% of those in their fifties, and of the fifteen SNS users aged over sixty, nine used mixi.

Q5: What do you do on SNSs? (Sample size=1,108, multiple answer)

Read other people’s diaries	84.7%
Write my diary	73.8%
Write my profile	72.0%
Leave comments on other people’s diaries	69.2%
Examine people’s “footsteps”, leave my own	67.9%
Send and receive messages	60.1%
Participate in communities	50.8%
Look for or make friends	43.5%
Upload photos or videos	37.2%
Invite friends	34.7%
Read friend’s introduction messages	30.5%
Read news	25.1%
Read or write reviews or recommendations	14.8%
Participate in off-line events or meetups	12.3%
Use calendar or scheduling functions	5.9%
Other	1.0%

Q6: What are the good things about SNSs? (Sample size=1,108, multiple answer)

Can get latest news about friends from their diaries, etc	66.2%
Free	57.2%
Can increase number of friends, widen circle of friends	42.5%
Can write a diary	41.7%
Diverse communities	41.6%
Can meet old friends	37.6%
Has an invitation system	29.2%
Can limit which information is public	28.8%
Can use from mobile phone	23.5%
Can link to blogs, etc	13.4%
Other	1.9%
No particular good points, don’t know	6.4%

Q7: Why did you stop using SNSs? (Sample size=142, multiple answer)

Too much of a bother	61.3%
Didn’t get into it	33.8%
Got bored with it	24.6%
Couldn’t get the hang of it	19.7
Tiring	16.9%
Have uncomfortable memories	14.1%
Friends quit	4.2%
Too few members	4.2%
Other	7.0%
No particular reason, don’t know	2.8%

Q8: Do you think you’d like to register with an SNS in the future? (Sample size=3,030, multiple answer)

Definitely want to	2.7%
Perhaps want to	11.2%
Can’t say if I want to or not	39.7%
Perhaps don’t want to	36.5%
Definitely don’t want to	9.9%

The percentages were surprisingly equal across all the age groups.

Now, a question for all those currently registered in an SNS.

Q9: Would you like to participate in a real-life meeting with friends from an SNS? (Sample size=1,459)

Yes	23.4%
No	76.6%

Again, the percentages were remarkable similar across the ages, from 20.5% of those in their fifties wanting to meet in real life to 26.0% of the forty-somethings.