Penetration levels of microblogging and social networking continue to grow worldwide, driven by increased adoption in emerging countries; but as the Web has evolved Internet users have moved toward consuming and transmitting content rather than producing it themselves, according to Wave 5 of the GlobalWebIndex by Trendstream.

Between 2009 and 2011, the number of people worldwide who publish a blog declined 4%, while the number of people writing an online news article increased slightly, up 6%. By contrast, the numbers of people using microblogs and social networks surged, up 62% and 40%, respectively, over the same period.

Much of the increased adoption of social networks worldwide has been driven by widespread use of mobile devices, according to the report.

Note: The chart (above) illustrates penetration levels across a range of online activities. For example, asked which online activities they've done in the previous month, nearly 70% of people cite watching an online video clip, 50% cite managing a social network profile and 36% say they've commented on a story; only 25% have written a blog post and even fewer people (18%) have written an article.

Below, additional findings from Wave 5 of the GlobalWebIndex, which surveyed the online behaviors of Internet users in 27 countries.

Emerging Markets Lead in Microblogging Penetration

Globally, 23.1 % of surveyed online adults worldwide used a microblogging platform (such as Twitter or other location-based services) in the previous month, as of June 2011.

But penetration levels across the 27 countries surveyed are uneven. In BRIC markets (Brazil, Russia, India, and China), microblogging penetration has reached roughly 40%, while it has stagnated at less than 10% among Internet users in the US (6.6%) and EU5 (UK, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy). 

Microblogs: Update Frequency and Monthly Activities

The level of content creation has dropped as social platforms encourage sharing of others content, according to the study.