Emerging nations in Latin America rely on cell phones for a variety of purposes beyond text and voice calls, especially photos and videos, and social networking. A report from the Pew Research Center, “Emerging Nations Embrace Internet, Mobile Technology Cell Phones Nearly Ubiquitous in Many Countries,” highlights the different uses of mobile devices across developing nations.
Most interestingly, political beliefs were being shared via mobile to social networking sites in Latin America. This sharing actually influenced real-life social networks, according to the report:
In nine countries, half or more of social networkers say they have learned that someone’s political beliefs were different than they thought, based on something that person posted on a site like Facebook or Twitter. This type of discovery is particularly common in sub- Saharan Africa and Latin America.
Specific to photos and videos on mobile devices, the report noted:
Cell phone owners in Latin America generally are more likely than those in other countries to use mobile phones for this purpose. For instance, two-thirds or more of cell phone owners in Venezuela (77%) and Chile (67%) say they regularly snap pictures or shoot video with their phones. But less than four-in-ten mobile owners in Tunisia (36%), Lebanon (35%), Uganda (27%) and Pakistan (19%) say the same.
Social networking, predictably, was popular, but came in at less than 50%:
A median of only one-in-four cell phone users across the countries surveyed say they access a social networking site regularly on their phone, although a third or more do so in Chile (37%), Venezuela (37%), Lebanon (36%) and Nigeria (34%). This is less popular elsewhere, with as little as 3% in Pakistan and 10% of cell phone owners in Uganda saying they regularly use social networking sites (SNS) on their mobile device such as Facebook, Twitter, and other country- specific examples (see here for full list). Generally, this activity is more popular in Latin America and the Middle East than in Asia and Africa.
To read the rest of the report, visit here.
[Image Via Rex]
Sara Inés Calderón is a journalist and writer who lives between Texas and California. Follow her on Twitter @SaraChicaD.
