Survey Says Facebook Rules in the Philippines! Hooray!? or Boo!?

I don't know what to feel now that 24/7 Wall St concluded that the Philippines is the country to beat in terms of the dominance of Facebook in the online landscape, even topping the home of the social networking site itself: the U.S.  Today, there are 600 million Facebook members worldwide.

In the said report, the Philippines is joined by Israel, Turkey, Chile and Argentina as the top five nations where Facebook has whopping dominance of the online market.  Malaysia, Indonesia, Columbia, Peru and Venezuela round up the next five.
Here are the exact words from the article

1. Philippines
> Facebook: 93.9%
> Twitter: 16.1%
> LinkedIn: 1.9%
> Internet Use: 29.7%

Social network penetration is incredibly high in the Philippines, reaching 95%.  Facebook is the country’s most popular website, more so than Google, and has a penetration rate of 93.9%.  The Philippines is also the eighth most popular country for Twitter use on a global scale, with a penetration rate of 16.1%.  The popularity of photo sharing has increased by 46% in the country in one year, largely due to Facebook.  Social networking is so popular among Filipinos, the country has been nicknamed “The Social Networking Capital of the World.”

What does this mean? Here are some thoughts:

• TV commercials. TV being the dominant media in the country is one platform where the social networking site is massively promoted. Everywhere you see spread out like eagle's wings these commercials that carry the Facebook Fan pages of brands. You usually see these commercials at prime time where shows like telenovelas, koreanovelas, game shows, and more are being shown.  Hence, Facebook is being promoted free and Mark Zucherberg has a lot to thank the country's businessmen for having these ads without having to pay Philippine television networks a single cent.

• Filipinos are fond of "lists".  We are a curious race.  Last time, we are racing to set a record with the most number of circumcised teens in the world.  Then once upon a time, the Philippines was reportedly the third largest nation with the most number of English-speaking people, then the "Texting Capital of the World," and am not a bit surprised if we will again top this one. But yes we did! Another title? Yes, "The Social Networking Capital of the World." Did we ask for this? Definitely not, but it appears very natural for us Filipinos. Isn't it that the once glorious Friendster.com was the king of the internet landscape in the country here? And now that Facebook or FB is the king, we are quick to jump ship.  And it also looks like it is embedded in us to look for something that will make our country stand out among the rest. And even not economically perhaps, we can at least become the first to beat the U.S. and the G8.

• Cheap Internet Cafe Rates. For one peso, one can use the Internet and surf Facebook for as little as one minute! I am not kidding, this only happens in the Philippines. What can one do with one (1) minute? Just check notifications and generously spread "Likes," perhaps?  

• Consumption of time. Some would rather open Facebook and shout to the world that someone has completed the folding of 1,000 pieces of baby wipes in 10 seconds, mopped the lobby, post photos that charted the person's whole lifespan on earth, entered a mental hospital and shook hands with a parrot. These are considered more productive way of spending one's time than the more important things like devoting full eight hours to work, helping a son or daughter do assignments, and visiting charities and volunteering for causes.

• Narcissism. Sadly, could this also be telling us how much we love ourselves more than the others? There are already numerous studies about why social networking sites are growing more and more popular among children and adults, while some knows how to use the site for good, others don't. And others never will.

• And more.

Facebook is obviously here to stay. It will continue to grow or something new will emerge along the way. But what will be the same is that Filipinos will surely be among the first to appreciate these things before any nation in the world. We have proofs to back this up.

However, it is just my hope that somewhere along the way we would pick up the good over the bad: the use of technology wisely and intelligently not just for the self but for others.