Understanding Internet User Profiles: A Case Study of Thailand

Abstract

Thailand is experiencing the unforeseen growth in Internet penetration like in many developing countries. Internet users are eager to go online and try our new applications. In order to understand the whole picture of the market, it is important for one to understand the user behaviors first. This study aims to analyze the Internet user behaviors, using Thailand as a case study, and group the users according to their usage behaviors. The findings show four groups of Internet users which are different from traditional literature which has not been updated since 2012. They are, namely, (1) Online Hardcores, (2) Rational Users, (3) Social Addicts, and (4) Social Followers. These groups have different behaviors when it comes to the usage of different applications on the Internet. It is found that most Thai users use social network applications and short messaging services, such as Line and Whatsapp. Therefore, the majority tend to be the socializers. However, it was found that Thai users often use many applications in one day. They do not stay only on social networks but also use other programs as well. The results also show that Internet users grouping is still the area that can be further developed as the users and applications keep changing.