Russian Facebook users are more cynical and aggressive than those using other social networks, while Vkontakte users swear more often in their written posts, according to a new study released Wednesday.
The study, conducted by communications group Vizantia, was based on surveys and analysis of Russian-speaking users on five major social networks: Facebook, Twitter, Vkontakte, Odnoklassniki and Moi Mir, RIA-Novosti reported.
After compiling the necessary data, each network was awarded a score on the Cook-Medley hostility scale — the lower the score, the higher the level of hostility — the news agency said.
Facebook users received the lowest score of 17.5 points in the survey and were judged the most cynical. Facebook users from the capital were especially cynical.
Those posting comments on Twitter and Vkontakte came in second and third for cynicism, with scores of 18.9 and 20.65, respectively.
In terms of aggression, Facebook users again beat out the competition, scoring 15.9 points, as opposed to 16.45 for Twitter and 17.05 for Vkontakte.
But Facebook posts contained less swearwords than those on Vkontakte, featuring 12.8 swearwords per 1,000 words compared with 17.2 for the Russian social network.
Vizantia researchers consulted 2,000 people for the survey, which gave no margin of error. Thirty-seven percent of respondents said they had Vkontakte accounts, 33 percent used Odnoklassniki and 14 percent preferred Facebook. Less popular were Moi Mir (10 percent) and Twitter (7 percent).
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