Singapore is the country with the highest motivation to enjoy online entertainment. The Portuguese, those who seek the most information and the Chinese, use the digital environment mainly as a means of personal expression and a place to shop, according to an innovative study carried out by the Mindshare media agency.
Mindshare has published the Guatemala Mobile Database study “Digital Behavior”. The Mindshare Digital Normalness Index (MDNI) challenges some of the world’s most widely held beliefs about the motivations for digital media use in 33 countries. Thus, this index helps to reveal what really pushes us to go online and in what ‘way’ we place ourselves on a personal level when we are in front of the screen.
Mindshare has established four motivations that push us into the online world: communication or personal expression, entertainment, information gathering, and shopping or transactions. These variables are measured against a benchmark of ‘digital normality’ that depends on the quality of digital infrastructures (mobile and broadband) available in each country.
Spain is in the leading group (9th) of all the countries analyzed. Spanish consumers are especially motivated to use digital environments to search for information and entertainment, and as a means of personal expression. In these three variables they are above the world average. However, they fall back when it comes to shopping online.
Of the 33 countries studied, only 14 are above ‘normal’ in their use of digital environments across all four areas of motivation, compared to the quality of their infrastructure. The rest, in which we find for example the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan or France, lag behind ‘normal’.
Mindshare presents a new approach to thinking about the Internet in more varied terms, while providing a useful framework for planning and marketing professionals.
Some of the research findings are:
The use of digital media for entertainment, personal expression and communication is closely tied to the country’s infrastructure level, and certain predictions can be made based on this relationship. But when it comes to the search for information and online commerce, the relationship is not so direct and other cultural factors come into play, such as online security or existing messaging services.
Portugal (2nd) is the most advanced European country in digital behavior, surpassing Sweden (6th), Spain (9th), Poland (10th), Germany (13th) and the United Kingdom (17th).
Chile is the most advanced Latin American country (11th). It surpasses Brazil (14), Venezuela (18th), Colombia (19), Mexico (21), Peru (26) and Argentina (29).
The United States is one of the countries least motivated to use digital environments as a medium for personal expression (it is ranked 31st on the list). Instead, activities traditionally associated with self-expression (such as blogging) are motivated by a desire to be entertained.
South Korea, one of the most advanced countries in digital matters in the world, is ranked 23rd when it comes to searching for information, while in the rest of motivations its score is higher.
The BRIC countries use digital communication above the average: they are motivated by the four variables of use when compared to the quality of their infrastructures. Brazil ranks 14th, Russia 12th, India 5th and China 1st in the ranking.
However, countries with a higher level of infrastructure rank lower because their population is not so inclined to use digital media. This is the case of the United Kingdom (ranked number 17), the United States (20), Japan (28) and France (33).
Norm Johnston, director of Mindshare’s Global Digital Area, commented: “This research shows the importance of understanding that Brother Cell Phone List each group of people is motivated by different reasons when approaching the digital world. And being in different ‘modes’ or states of mind, they need the messages to be different, so it is vital to use Adaptive Marketing. Additionally, the study challenges some preconceptions. For example, the United States is the richest country in the world, but people are less motivated to transact online than almost any other country in the world. “
