The number of Taiwanese using online instant message services is on the rise, with nearly 30 percent of local Internet users subscribing to it, a market research center said yesterday.
"As of May this year, about 1.79 million people or 27.9 percent of Internet users in Taiwan were using instant message services, up 27.3 percent from the same period last year," said Tiffany Duh (
NetValue is a global Internet research company that documents Internet usage and online consumer behavior.
The penetration rate slightly surpasses South Korea's 27.5 percent, and lags behind 55 percent in Singapore and 70 percent in Hong Kong, Duh added.
Instant message services such as Yahoo Messenger, Microsoft MSN Messenger or ICQ are downloadable programs that enable users to know when friends and contacts are also online.
Via its real-time function, users can send messages, files and initiate a chat session as well as play games with other instant messaging members.
Currently in Taiwan, about one million Internet users subscribe to MSN Messenger followed by Yahoo Messenger's 89,000 users and ICQ's 68,000 members.
According to NetValue, the average age of instant message users is increasing as well.
One user said she was pulled into the loop by friends.
"After more than 10 friends asking me to download ICQ over last two months, I decide to give it a try," said Sandy Yu (
However, Yu said she has to be careful during office hours.
"I feel guilty chatting with friends online when I work, so I try to keep low profile," she said.
Many companies, concerned about weak staff production, forbid instant message services.
"Using instant message will definitely reduce work efficiency ... employees should focus on work -- not chatting in the office," said Frank Lo (
Conversely, a travel agent said that instant message service is a very helpful and efficient tool for their industry.
"Especially exchanging information with people abroad," said travel agent Lucky Chen (
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