According to the Zhongshan Index 2016, a study of netizens across China that analyzed what they express online and how they do it, many Internet users are characterized by the way they communicate.
The index revealed that many users' level of positivity in life is characterized by their location.
According to the report, netizens from the Guangdong Province usually discuss their work, while those from the prosperous city of Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province spent more time talking about leisure.
The Index is a joint research paper published by the Chinese Netizen Social Mentality Research Lab at Sun Yat-sen University, the Association of Cyber Culture of the city of Zhongshan, Guangdong, and the Guangzhou Big Data and Public Dissemination Research Base.
Researchers from these institutions gathered random responses of 2,000 to 5,000 Internet users across the country. They also observed users in WeChat, Sina Weibo, and Baidu Tieba.
Zhu Wei, deputy director of the Research Center of Law of Communication at the Beijing-based China University of Political Science and Law, said ""The local environment, customs, climate and other elements might form the characteristics of residents, but in terms of this report, the connection between the cities and their Web users' emotions may also be caused by other issues."
The expert believed that the location of the user affects the way he communicates, and affects his or her manner of thinking.
He Lingnan, deputy chief of the big data and communications lab at Sun Yat-sen University, agreed with Zhu.
He said, "Actually, we cannot simply explain the findings of netizens' online expression, because we have currently only studied it from the angle of communication, but we need more data and further studies from local experts who understand the variety of societies and cultures covered."
The experts concluded that further study on online behavior can later help determine medical needs and even predicting crime rates.