Social media didn’t earn its name for nothing – online sharing is one of the most essential, if not defining, aspects of the medium.

But what really makes people share content on social? Is it personal preference, mood, timing, geography…Justin Bieber?

A new study from Ipsos that surveyed 12,000 users across 24 countries sheds some light into the world of social sharing. Here are the highlights.

Interesting trumps important

Over half of those surveyed (61 per cent) said “sharing interesting things” was the primary reason they posted on social media.

This was followed by “sharing important things” and “sharing funny things” (both 43 per cent). 

Other reasons included “to let others know what I believe in and who I really am” (39 per cent) and “to recommend a product, service, movie, book, etc.” (30 per cent).

Sharing is caring

A fifth of those surveyed were compelled to sharing “to let others know what I am doing”, while a similar number posted “to add to a thread or conversation.”

11 per cent of respondents admitted they share “to show I’m in the know.”

Australia

Australian users largely followed the global trends on sharing.

62 per cent of us are prompted to share interesting content, while we also like a laugh – with 53 per cent of Australian respondents preferring to share funny content.

To two least popular reasons Australians cited for posting on social platforms were  “to let others know what I believe in and who I really am” and “to add to a thread or conversation.”

Country by country

Respondents from China and Indonesia (both 76 per cent) were most likely to share content they found interesting, followed by South Africa (74 per cent), Turkey (71 per cent) and Russia (68 per cent).

Read more at ipsos-na.com.

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