The number of people who surf the Internet via mobile devices in China has for the first timeexceeded the number using computers to go online, an industry report said on Monday.

The number increased by 14.42 million over the past six months, so that now 83.4 percent ofChina’s Internet surfers are using mobile phones to go online, according to the report issued bythe China Internet Network Information Center, a government-backed industry administrativebody.

Popularity of social media websitesdeclining

As Facebook tries to win back youngusers from competitors around

the world, a new report indicates thatChinese netizens’ interest in social mediahas waned.

The report, released by the China InternetNetwork Information Center, showed thatthe number of Chinese social networkusers declined to 257 million by the end ofJune.

Social network websites in China have lost20.4 million users in the past six months.

The percentage of Chinese netizensvisiting social websites dropped 4.3percentage points compared withDecember.

In 2012, China had more than 400 millionsocial network users, or one-third of theusers around the world, according toPeople’s Daily.

The network information center said itthinks the prospects for Chinese socialnetwork websites are not optimistic.

Part of the decline can be attributed tocompetition from social apps on mobilephones, the report said.

At the same time, social websites did notfocus enough on their own operations,which led to fewer interactions amongusers, it added.

Even though social network websites aregoing out of fashion, the social element isstill valued by other Internet companies.

Su Zhou

The total number of Chinese netizens was 632million by the end of June, 527 million of whomlogged onto the World Wide Web through theirsmartphones, the report said.

It is the first time that the number of mobile Internetusers has surpassed that of those surfing the Web intraditional ways, such as with personal computersand laptops, said Liu Bing, deputy director with theCINIC.

"In other words, the mobile phone can be regardedas the key terminal device for Chinese to get online,”he said.

As the mobile network has taken the lead in thecountry’s Internet development, its status has alsobecome firmer among netizens, he said.

The increasing number of smartphone owners hasdriven a rapid rise in e-commerce, instantmessaging and entertainment applications, “whichreflects a diverse demand of netizens”, he said.

According to the report, the number of users who usemobile phones to make payments has increased63.4 percent from January to June, with the growth ofpayment apps likewise surging in that period.

“The mobile payment is becoming much closer withconsumers and it has been making greatercontributions to e-commerce development,”Liu said.

Yin Jingxue, a mobile Internet analyst, confirmed thatmobile devices have played the more important rolein Web development in the country.

“Instant messaging applications such as Weibo andWechat are still used the most among mobile Internetusers, followed by online shopping apps, includingTaobao and Jingdong,” Yin said.

People aged 20 to 40 are the main mobile Internetusers, Yin said, adding that they are more likely to trynew applications.

She said she does not think that mobile devices willreplace computers. “Instead, different Internet userswill find their own channels to get online and apps willbe promoted in accordance with their variousdemands,” she said.