Web users hungry for news

Online consumption of news increased sharply in Viet Nam last year, a survey on internet use trends by Kantar Media Viet Nam and Yahoo! Viet Nam has found.

The proportion of internet users reading news jumped to 97 per cent last year from 89 per cent in 2008, making it the most preferred online activity.

It was universally popular across all demographic groups.

Online gaming was the second most popular internet activity, engaging almost half the population. The profile of gamers was, however, skewed towards young males who mostly preferred high-voltage action and role-playing games.

Online games were meant not only to connect and socialise with other gamers but also to compete with them.

Meanwhile, home internet access grew from 66 per cent in 2008 to 71 per cent to become the dominant access point.

In the same period, access through internet cafes declined from 53 per cent to 42 per cent.

Users from the lower social and economic group had increasing home internet access.

Attractive packages and the introduction of 3G drove an emerging trend of internet access through mobile phones.

Purchase of products online grew from 4 per cent to 11 per cent. Social media in Viet Nam was still evolving, with user-generated content and community forums more popular than social networking.

“Yahoo! is among the leading players in the online news category in Viet Nam, which is one of the fastest growing internet markets in Asia,” Nguyen Huu Hanh, Yahoo! Viet Nam’s acting general manager, said.

“Insights like the Vietnamese preference for reading online news will enable brands and advertisers to reach the millions of people on Yahoo! every month.”

Viet Nam has more than 23 million internet users, a number that will continue to grow as access becomes more widespread.

“Digital media is more than a buzzword, it is a vital necessity that marketers and advertisers cannot afford to ignore,” Huynh To Linh, research manager, Kantar Media Viet Nam, said.

The survey interviewed more than 1,500 internet users aged 15 years and above in Ha Noi, Da Nang, HCM City and Can Tho. — VNS

Tags: Vietnam internet market, Vietnam IT