MANILA, Philippines – The Internet is now the primary communication channel for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and their families.

According to the TNS Digital Life 2012 study, which was presented to the media on Tuesday, 81% of urban Filipino families who have relatives abroad use the Internet on their personal computers to keep in touch with their loved ones.

Meanwhile, 77% of the respondents said they use their mobile phones to call or send SMS and MMS messages to overseas family members.

Only 24% of the respondents still use landline phones to connect with their family members abroad.

Most of the OFW family members were also found to belong to social networking sites, mainly Facebook with a whopping 90%. Twitter is a far second at only 6%, followed by Multiply at 3%.

According to Lester Sualog, the leader for the TNS Digital Life initiative, the study estimates that 24% of urban Filipinos have family members who are OFWs or permanent residents abroad.

Of the respondents who use Facebook, 67% of said they read messages and posts, 65% said they look at photos, while 64% chat with their loved ones abroad. abs-cbnnews.com