Mobile users spend 1.4 times as many hours using social networking sites than reading and responding to e-mail, according to a recent study by research company TNS. On average, users spend 3.1 hours per week on social networks, versus 2.2 hours on e-mail.

In most mature markets — such as the U.S. — the trend is reversed on PCs; consumers spend more time on e-mail (5.1 hours per week) than social networking (3.8 hours).

The study, which tracked the online activities and behaviors of nearly 50,000 subjects between 16 and 60 years of age in 46 countries, cited "the increased need for instant gratification" as well as "the ability to offer multiple messaging formats, including the instant message or update function," for the popularity of social networking platforms on mobile devices. More consumers, both in the U.S. and abroad, expect to spend even more time accessing social media on their mobile devices in the future, rather than their PCs.

In addition to the mobile use patterns cited above, the survey found that those who had Internet access were more likely to use it daily (61% of those surveyed) than TV (54%), radio (36%) and newspapers (32%).

In general, consumers proved more engaged and comfortable with social media in rapid growth markets, particularly in Asia, than those in more mature markets. In areas of rapid development, social networking takes up more of users' time (5.2 hours per week) than e-mail (4.2 hours) on PCs.

The heaviest users of social media live in Malaysia (9 hours per week), Russia (8.1 hours) and Turkey (7.7 hours). Eighty-eight percent of online users in China and 51% in Brazil said they have written their own blog or forum entry, compared to a little less than a third in the U.S.

More than 85% of online consumers living in Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam have uploaded photos to social networks or photo-sharing sites, while only 28% and 48% have done so in Japan and Germany, respectively.

TNS Chief Development Officer Matthew Froggatt explains that social media is less popular in more developed countries because consumers have learned to take much of what the Internet has to offer for granted.

"However, in rapid growth markets that have seen recent, sustained investment in infrastructure, users are embracing these new channels in much more active ways. The digital world is transforming how they live, develop and interact and online consumers in these markets are leaving those in the developed world behind in terms of being active online and engaging in new forms of communications," he says.