Social networking is still the fastest-growing active social media behaviour online, but there is “clear fatigue in Facebook usage and stalling Twitter growth”, says a leading global web survey.

GlobalWebIndex, the world’s most detailed global insight study into consumer behaviour online, carried out its most recent research last November.

A total of 59 percent of global internet users manage their social network profile on a monthly basis. This is followed by updating a micro-blog (24 percent) and uploading video (27 percent). Monthly forum contribution is declining, with a figure of 32 percent, while blog writing stagnated at 27 percent.

The most social engaged internet market in the world is China, where 84 percent of internet users contribute at least once a month to either social networking, blogging, video uploading, photo sharing, micro-blogging and forums. Next are Russia, Brazil and India, demonstrating how Bric markets dominate the social landscape.

In the UK the figure stood at 64 percent, in the US 60 percent and in Germany 52 percent, showing that in less social markets, contributing online is still mainstream.

GlobalWebIndex said the number of visits to Facebook continues to grow across all platforms but the world’s largest social network has reached saturation among active internet users in many markets, with user growth restricted to growing internet markets such as India, Indonesia and Brazil.

“More importantly across three waves of research in 2011, Facebook users on a global basis have reduced the frequency of key Facebook activities, including sending a digital present, searching for new contacts or sending messages to friends.”

Latest data shows Facebook fatigue spreading in the US from the early adopters who were identified in previous research less than a year ago as “disengaging”.

“Declines were evident in social networking activity – such as messaging friends, which fell 12 percent over the six waves of research; searching for new contacts which fell 17 percent and joining a group which fell 19 percent among all Facebook users in the US,” said GlobalWebIndex.

However, it was noted that “social networking can now deliver mass reach for brands”.

While branded websites are still the primary brand engagement point for consumers online, nearly a third are engaging brands through social media, proving the value of having brands on social media.

The survey added: “Consumers that interact with businesses in the social media space do expect something in return with future discounts, better customer service and personalised recommendations cited by all age groups as the leading motivations. Such expectations are significantly higher in emerging markets with Argentina, Philippines and Brazil indexing highest across a range of areas, demonstrating how consumers in these markets are particularly open to building relationships with brands online.”

GlobalWebIndex also remarked on “Googopoly”– because “Google has evolved into the gatekeeper of the internet. Google has massively improved its position as the world’s biggest controller of information and is starting to dominate all access points to the internet. Its core search product reaches more than 85 percent of global internet users every month.”

Other evidence of Googopoly includes the growth of Chrome – it’s now the most widely used browser in the Philippines, Turkey, Argentina and India among others – and significant growth of Android. Android is now the leading platform in developed mobile markets such as South Korea, Sweden, US and Spain.

“Our data also shows the massive growth of Google+, which is already the world’s second biggest social network.”

GlobalWebIndex said the “post-PC era” is coming “ever closer… our data suggests that internet users are more than ever willing to swop their laptop for their e-reader, mobile or TV to access such services”.

Current numbers indicate that 74 percent use their personal PC or laptop as their favourite device for internet access but that only 47 percent expect this to be the case in a year’s time.

Mobile internet use continues to grow, notably in Asia Pacific and Latin America. Globally, 33 percent of mobile usage is primarily at home; 23 percent while travelling; 28 percent in public places; and 17 percent at work.

Mobile internet usage has grown dramatically in Bric countries with continued growth in mobile usage for activities such as reading the news, accessing social networks and searching for a local product or service. More than 250 million people looked for news via a mobile or tablet in Bric markets, compared to more than 400 million for the most popular PC activity, using webmail.

“Increasingly, there is no digital divide for content and consumers are becoming device-agnostic. For marketers this means more focus on the content type and not the device.”

GlobalWebIndex went on: “Digital can no longer be seen as a separate ‘media’ as consumers globally are transitioning media consumption across multiple internet platforms in record numbers.”

This is particularly marked in TV, which is now being consumed at higher levels than music online. In the US, for example, while 90 percent of internet users watch an hour of TV a day, 27 percent also watch on-demand TV online, 10 percent stream live TV online and 8 percent stream live TV to their mobiles on a monthly basis.

Tom Smith, managing director of GlobalWebIndex, said the latest research shows “increasing fragmentation of the global internet”.

“Thanks to social media, consumers in emerging, fast-growing internet markets such as Brazil, China, India or Indonesia are contributing more online than ever before, leaving behind traditional markets such as the UK, US and Germany. This is creating a more localised internet, where each market has a different behaviour type, relationship with brands and attitudes towards the role of the internet. The concept that the internet would drive a singular global culture is false. Brands and content producers will need ever more localised strategies.”