Developing countries addicted by social media

More than 14 developing countries outpace the US in the proportion of internet users who log on to social sites

The United States may be the birthplace of Facebook but Americans are far from the most social network obsessed people on the planet.

Egypt, Russia, Philippines and 14 other developing countries outpace the US in the proportion of internet users who log on to social sites, said a latest Pew Research Centre report.

The report finds that a majority of internet users in the 24 countries surveyed use social media, but smart phone users are still a minority.

"People are using social networking sites to stay in touch with family and friends and to share their views on an array of topics, including popular culture, religion and politics," said the report.

Only 23% of people go online in Indonesia, 12% in Uganda and 8% in Pakistan, it added.

When people in the developing world get online, the internet typically becomes part of their daily lives.

More than half of the internet users in most countries surveyed said they got online daily.

When these users are online, social networking sites are a common destination.

Egypt is the top developing nation for social networking use, with 88% of internet users logging on to social sites.

Russia and the Philippines follow with 86% of internet users each also using social networks.