BEIJING, July 24 (Xinhua) -- According to findings of a new online survey released by China Youth Daily Tuesday, mobile apps played a big role for those who watched the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Of the 2,006 respondents, about 84.4 percent were born in the 1980s or 1990s.

From the survey, 43.3 percent of respondents posted comments on social media platforms while watching the game, and many discussed the match on social networking apps with their friends (40.5 percent) or group chats (26.1 percent).

Of those surveyed, 66.8 percent watched the games live on TV or mobile apps, and 61.2 percent made predictions about the games online.

The survey found that 93.2 percent of respondents watched at least one 2018 FIFA World Cup match, and 27.8 percent watched all of the matches.

Zhang Baoyi, director of the sociology institute under the Tianjin Academy of Social Sciences, said the increasing use of mobile apps to watch the games was a distinctive feature of the 2018 World Cup compared with the previous one.

"The change reflects the development of the media and personalized communication," he said.

Despite the popularity of the sport in China, only 35.6 percent said they hoped to see the Chinese national team play in the next World Cup.