In the spring-block models of earthquakes, one of the key factors is the dynamic friction term which determines the complexity of the faulting process. Generally, two kinds of friction, namely velocity-dependent friction and slipdependent friction, are used in the modelling. But until now there has still been a lack of information on which kind of friction term is more suitable for modelling the phenomenology of earthquakes. Based on the numerical studies of Shaw (1998 Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am. 88 1457), we have examined the ratio of the broadband radiated energy and the scalar seismic moment of shallow earthquakes worldwide from 1987 to 1998. The result shows that for earthquakes with strike-slip mechanisms, velocity-dependent friction seems to be predominant, while for thrust and normal events,slip-dependent friction seems predominant. This suggests that in the spring-block models for earthquakes, the type of focal mechanism has to be accounted for, and different types of earthquakes require different dynamic friction terms in the corresponding spring-block model.