( CNN ) -- People in poorer countries send text messages more often than those in wealthier countries . Men in Spain and Germany access the Internet on their phones twice as much as women do . And use of online social networks grew dramatically in Egypt and Russia over the past year , most likely as part of the recent political upheavals in those countries . These are among the results of a new report that measured the usage of digital communication in 21 countries . The survey by the Pew Research Center 's Global Attitudes Project found that text messaging is now a widespread global phenomenon : In the countries polled , 75 % of cell phone owners say they text . In almost all the countries surveyed , the use of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter did n't change much from 2010 to 2011 . Two notable exceptions were Egypt , where 28 % of respondents now use social networks -- up from 18 % last year -- and Russia , where social-networking use rose from 33 % to 43 % . Facebook and other networking tools played a prominent role in the revolution that toppled Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in February . Protesters organized so effectively on social networks that the Egyptian government shut down the Internet for five days in an unsuccessful attempt to quell the uprising . Observers say social networks also have helped mobilize protesters in Moscow , where tens of thousands have filled the streets to speak out against Russian parliamentary elections they say were rigged . The Pew survey found that only 6 % of Internet users in Russia were not on social-networking sites . Researchers conducted the survey face-to-face and via telephone in the spring of this year . Sample sizes in each country ranged from 700 in Japan to more than 4,000 in India . Among the survey 's other findings : . -- Of the countries surveyed , text messaging was most common in Indonesia and Kenya , where 96 % and 89 % of people said they regularly send texts . By contrast , 67 % of people in the United States were frequent texters . -- In Spain , 29 % of male cell phone owners use their devices to access the Internet , compared to 13 % of female phone owners . This mobile-Web gender gap was also pronounced in Germany ( 26 % /11 % ) and in Turkey ( 30 % /14 % ) . -- Social networking is generally more common in wealthier nations , largely driven by the fact that they have higher rates of Internet access . For example , 53 % of respondents in Israel and 50 % of respondents in the U.S. said they use social networks , compared with 5 % in India and 2 % in Pakistan .
Survey : Use of social networks grew dramatically amid recent upheavals in Egypt and Russia . People in poorer countries such as Kenya send texts more often than those in wealthier ones . New Pew Research Center report measured the usage of digital communication in 21 countries .