young Asians cover story The rise of the digital natives It’s no secret that young Asians love technology, but how exactly are they using it? Exclusive new data reveals how they combine digital media, and how their digital diet varies by country words Anita Davis Sophia Nagar sits in her turquoise bedroom in front of her desktop computer after a hard day’s work. At 9.00pm, the 13-yearold has a precious hour to spend before bedtime. Her eyes flicker up and down between her keyboard and computer screen, which jumps tabs between her Facebook profile, a games website, a film streaming site and MSN Messenger, where she chats with friends about homework, because, for a seventh grader in Hong Kong, this is still technically “study time”. Sometimes at night, her mobile phone, sat next to her computer, beeps with a new message from a classmate looking to reserve her for an afternoon at the mall. But, while Nagar likes hanging out, she prefers playing on her computer to shopping. She admits that she often plays music or movies on her computer while doing her homework, which seems natural because, “I don’t know anyone who doesn’t.” Nagar leads a typical life for a middle-school student in Asia, where connectivity and multitasking are king. According to the latest Young Asians survey conducted by research firm Synovate, the eight- to 24-year-old ‘digital native’ demographic are multitasking and accomplishing more than ever before. One surprising statistic is that, across the region, the average young Asian multitasks so much that they cram an average of 38 hours of activity into a day; Hong Kong’s youths lead the way on 42.6 hours, with China and Singapore not far behind. These youths spend an average of 2.8 hours a day on the internet, with the bulk 24 digital media april 2008 I couldnÕt live without... When asked which medium was most important to them, most young Asians said either the internet or the mobile phone Internet 37% on who media Mobile phone 29% Television 19% Newspaper 2% Radio 37% Magazines 1% of their activity spent on email servers, instant messaging and social networking sites, according to the survey. These young users are most active between 8pm and 10pm, when they are likely to be sitting at home in front of the television, playing games or chatting with their friends online – just as Nagar does on a nightly basis. “I’m not surprised by the amount of multitasking they engage in,” says Craig Harvey, director of media research for Asia-Pacific at Synovate. “I know I watch TV with the internet, and they’ve been brought up to think that’s normal.” It would, however, be wrong to assume young people are the same across the region. Data from the survey published exclusively in Digital Media shows just how varied digital consumption can be. The activities these youths engage in differ across the region, mainly depending on a country’s digital infrastructure. South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan have the most active internet users, while Southeast Asians are highly dependent on their phones. Around 47% of the Indonesians polled said they could not live without their mobile phone, while only 13% said they couldn’t do without the internet. Those in Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand polled similarly. In South Korea, that statistic is nearly flipped, with 44% saying that the internet is essential and only 25% that they could not live without their phones. Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan also follow suit. Meanwhile, India is the least digitally connected nation in the region, as 39% of youths said they could not live without TV – a full 16% more than in Thailand, the second most TV-dependent nation. digitalmedia-asia.com previous page next page