Due to China's vast population, it is not surprising that 500 million Chinese citizens are online and make up a quarter of the world's social networking users. Studying this growing community, GPlus has created an infographic that shows the importance of social networking with regards to China's regional and cultural nuances.

The infographic addresses issues such as China's control over the internet, its strict 'one child' policy and the separation of families due to migration. By exploring these factors, the results suggest a greater need for digital consumption than its Asian and Western counterparts. China's use of instant messaging and online music averages around 50% more than that of the USA. This implies that China's younger generation substitute the absence of a sibling with more social networking and online entertainment. Surprisingly, the results also showed that e-commerce is China's lowest form of digital consumption. However, as 61% of its online users make purchases based on digital marketing campaigns, the internet is just as influential commercially and socially.

Although China continues to control internet usage, conversely, it has further encouraged digital communication. As the Chinese Ministry of Public Security banned sites such as Facebook and YouTube, the emergence of imitation sites created a major boom in social networking. Expanding on this revolution, our previous Protein Briefing, The Chinese Social Web, further proves how Chinese citizens are using the digital world to overcome their government's social and political restrictions.