How Japanese Facebook users see Facebook

This survey from Macromill Research takes a look at the latest internet service that is tipped by some to take off in Japan, Facebook, from the perspective of those using it, but these early adoptors seem to be quite different from the typical Japanese.

Demographics

Over the 26th and 27th of January 2011 500 members of the Macromill monitor group who were also Facebook members completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 69.6% of the sample were male, 1.6% in their teens, 20.8% in their twenties, 35.2% in their thirties, 30.2% in their forties, and 12.2% aged sixty or older.

Note Q1, 31% having lived overseas. This is very high, and although the survey didn’t define how long to count, the Japanese used indicated that more than a foreign holiday or a business trip would count, and even a short-term homestay might be out of scope. This is backed up by the 30% searching for foreign friends, indicating that it is a more internationalised crowd that sign up for the service.

Research results

Q1: Have you ever lived overseas? (Sample size=500)

Yes	31.0%
No	69.0%

Q2: Which of the following services do you use? (Sample size=500, multiple answer)

Facebook	100.0%
Twitter	63.6%
mixi	61.4%
YouTube	58.6%
GREE	21.0%
Mobage Town	17.4%
Ustream	14.8%
MySpace	12.6%

Q3: How do you access Facebook? (Sample size=500, multiple answer)

From a computer	96.0%
From a smartphone	22.6%
From a standard feature phone	9.0%
From an iPad, other tablet	7.4%
Other	1.2%

Q4: What sort of things do you do on Facebook? (Sample size=500, multiple answer)

Check what my friends have been up to recently	50.0%
Search for old friends	39.4%
Let people know what I’ve been up to recently	32.4%
Search for foreign friends	30.0%
Converse with friends on Facebook (via newsfeeds, chat, mail, etc)	23.6%
Look for people with similar hobbies	22.8%
Upload photos	22.0%
Look at famous people’s, corporate fan pages	16.6%
Do networking for job seeking, business reasons	10.8%
Other	13.6%

Q5: What is good about Facebook? (Sample size=500, multiple answer)

Lots of users from all over the world	63.6%
Easy to find friends because real names are used	37.2%
Information is reliable because real names are used	34.8%
Can share information easily	32.0%
Can communicate in real time	30.4%
Can connect with Twitter and other services	29.0%
Can communicate through pictures and video	24.6%
Can communicate with just one click of a button	21.6%
Can study foreign languages	9.8%
Highly functional and easy to use	8.8%
Has corporate, brand fan pages	8.6%
Other	5.0%

Q6: How did you come to join Facebook? (Sample size=500)

Friend recommended it	41.4%
Became a topic of conversation	22.4%
Because it’s in vogue overseas	12.6%
Was interested in an SNS that used real names	8.0%
Throught it would be useful for job-seeking, business	4.6%
Other	11.0%

Q7: When did you join Facebook? (Sample size=500)

2006 or earlier	3.0%
2007	4.2%
2008	10.0%
2009	17.2%
2010	50.6%
2011	15.0%

Q8: About how often do you log on to Facebook? (Sample size=500)

At least once a day	33.4%
Two or three times a week	21.8%
Once a week	17.6%
Two or three times a month	13.8%
Once a month	8.2%
Once every two or three months	4.2%
Less than that	1.0%

On average, people spend 19 minutes per day on Facebook.

Q9: What sorts of friends do you have on Facebook? (Sample size=500)

Mostly people I have met in the flesh	47.4%
More people I have met in the flesh	14.4%
About the same either way	9.8%
More people I haven’t met in the flesh	10.8%
Mostly people I haven’t met in the flesh	17.6%

Q10: What information have you made public on Facebook? (Sample size=500, multiple answer)

Gender	87.6%
Real name	78.6%
Age	69.4%
Place of birth, school, other past information	53.8%
Hobbies, interests	50.2%
Current place of residence	48.2%
Photograph of face	38.6%
Comment, self-introduction	32.0%
Place of work	17.0%
Telephone number, address, other contact information	2.8%
Other	1.6%

Q11: Do you worry about disclosing personal information on Facebook? (Sample size=500)

Not at all worried	10.8%
Not really worried	37.6%
A little worried	39.2%
Worried	12.4%

Q12: What sorts of things are you careful about regarding Facebook? (Sample size=500, multiple answer)

Setting up who can access what personal information	63.8%
Not casually accepting friend requests from people I don’t know	58.0%
To make utterances, behave similar to how I would in a real life situation	55.6%
Respect other people’s privacy when uploading photos, talking, etc	31.6%
Other	2.6%

Q13: What do you think regarding the following statement related to Facebook? (Sample size=500, multiple answer)

	Agree	Somewhat agree	Somewhat disagree	Disagree
Just as in real life, it is my own responsibility to manage personal information on Facebook	49.0%	42.8%	6.8%	1.4%
I get the feeling of connecting with the world	27.6%	42.4%	24.2%	5.8%
Because real names are used, it’s close to the real world	23.6%	45.4%	24.8%	6.2%
Doesn’t suit the Japanese culture of anonymity	18.2%	45.0%	30.0%	6.6%

Q14: Do you think Facebook will become popular in Japan? (Sample size=500)

Very much so	17.6%
To some extent	48.2%
Not much more than it is now	11.8%
Don’t know	22.4%