11 minute read
Share
View report highlights
Downloads
Report pdf
Infographics pdf
alt=Alternative descriptive text class=lazyload main main-lazyloaded responsive-image data-v-1a5ebb10>
Socialising online is the top use of the mobile phone, with mobile investing and social gaming set to grow.
Online gaming goes mainstream due to mobile access. A staggering 80% of respondents play mobile games and one in three play every single day.
More than half of Gen-Zs surveyed said that using their mobile phones for learning has significantly improved their quality of life.
Singapore, January 31, 2023 - People across Asia are increasingly switching downtime pursuits into up-time' opportunities, according to the latest installment of a study into people's digital lives by Telenor Asia.
In Asia, people are socialising more online than they do in-person. Nearly half of the respondents said they meet new people regularly online and three-quarters of them expect to spend even more time socialising via social media apps in the coming years. People are also spending a good chunk of their leisure time tapping into mobile technology for online investing, social gaming as well as on-the-go learning apps and podcasts.
This study forms the third and final part of the Telenor Asia Digital Lives Decoded series, launched in 2022 in conjunction with Telenor Asia's 25th Anniversary. The series sought to understand the role of mobile connectivity in how we live, work, and play, surveying over 8,000 mobile internet users across eight countries (Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) in South and Southeast Asia. This concluding report examines the changing spectrum of consumers' leisure-time pursuits - supercharged by a more digitally-savvy, post-pandemic user base.
The standout finding from these results is how mobile technology has transformed gaming. Mobile access has turned gaming into a mass phenomenon, embedding virtual interactions and virtual worlds into daily life. We see now that gaming is bringing positive impact to real-life communities, reinforcing relationships and making other areas of daily life like work, healthcare or learning more efficient, said J rgen C. Arentz Rostrup, Head of Telenor Asia.
This growth comes with even higher expectations of mobile operators as people seek more dependable, faster mobile networks. The trends from this Digital Lives Decoded study highlight the opportunity for operators to expand beyond the traditional towards new capabilities and services, becoming not only an enabler of the technology but also a partner in the virtual world, he added.
1. Social media still second nature
Some of the habits formed during the two-plus years of the pandemic are becoming hard-wired in the way we live our lives today, with two-thirds (66%) of people saying they now socialise more online than in real life.
Younger generations tend to spend more time socialising online, but Baby Boomers say that mobile technology is helping them feel more connected to their loved ones. More than half of our respondents (55%) say they feel better connected to people they know because of social media, with respondents in Thailand (63%) and Bangladesh (61%) responding most positively, while nearly half (47%) regularly meet new people online.
As seen in previous reports, Singaporeans are the least likely to recognise the benefits of mobile technology on their day-to-day lives. They are also the least dependent on their mobiles for downtime activities (32% versus 47% overall) and the least likely to socialise more virtually than in-person (49%).
2. The new face of gaming is mobile
Four out of five people play some mobile game, with close to a third (31%) playing every single day, led by those in Thailand (44%) and Vietnam (41%). Our research suggests that stereotypes on gamers need updating as this pastime now reaches across genders and generations. This development points to the positive role of mobile in making gaming more inclusive and accessible than ever before.
In-game spend continues to grow in appeal with half of those surveyed spending some disposable income on gaming and in-game features while nearly a third of people spend between US$10-100 per year. Those in Singapore represent the largest spenders with one in five people spending between US$100-300 per year on in-game items.
Growing popularity of the social side of gaming is also evident in the findings with close to two-thirds (64%) of respondents either watching eSports or video game streams, led by those in Vietnam (76%) and Bangladesh (71%). Nearly half of the respondents expect an increase in the time they spend on social gaming going forward, led by respondents in Thailand (62% versus 45% overall).
3. Downtime becomes uptime
Respondents across the region are increasingly looking to their mobile devices for self-improvement, personal upskilling and development. 40% of respondents are using mobile devices to tap into learning and educational apps or websites, with women and younger generations most likely to say they feel the benefits. In particular, more than half of Gen-Zs (51%) surveyed said that learning on their mobile has significantly improved their quality of life, in contrast to only one quarter (25%) of older generations.
The growing desire for consumers in the region to learn on-the-go and enhance their personal development during downtime is reflected by 45% of respondents who spend at least an hour a day listening to podcasts, with respondents in Thailand (66%) and Pakistan (65%) most likely to do so. Singaporeans are least likely to experience benefits from using such apps, with only 20% feeling that they significantly improve quality of life, compared to a 40% average.
4. The Metaverse is yet to truly convince
Looking to t
Europe Stories
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
03/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Composition Builder 2025 Boilerplate
More Details: The Composition Builder 2025 application for macOS enables TV stations and Live Event broadcast...
03/12/2025
ToolsOnAr just:live pro 2025 Boilerplate
More Details: just:live pro 2025 is a Single Channel Live Production Playout solution for video and static or real-t...
03/12/2025
ToolsOnAr just:play pro 2025 Boilerplate
More Details: just:play pro 2025 is a Single Channel automated 24/7 Master Control playout solution with SD, HD and ...
03/12/2025
ToolsOnAr live:cut 2025 Boilerplate
More Details: live:cut is an option to just:in mac pro 2025 and enables multicamera production workflows for up to 16 cam...
03/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Just In Mac Lite NDI 2025 Boilerplate
More Details: The Just In Mac Lite NDI application is a streamlined media capture solution designed specific...
03/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Just In Mac Lite 2025 Boilerplate
More Details: The Just In Mac Lite application is a streamlined media capture solution designed specifically for...
03/12/2025
ToolsOnAir just:in mac pro 2025 Boilerplate
More Details: just:in mac pro is a macOS-based client-server multichannel capture solution to record SDI, HDMI, N...
03/12/2025
Tracy Bonareri Onchoke, Thomson's Young Journalist of the year 2025 is hoping the accolade will be a springboard to more cross-border collaboration between ...
03/12/2025
For the fourth time, Bad Bunny is the most-streamed Wrapped artist on Spotify gl...
03/12/2025
The wait is over. It's time to look back at the audio that defined your year with 2025 Spotify Wrapped, our annual celebration for fans, artists, creators, ...
03/12/2025
Por cuarta vez, Bad Bunny es el Top Artista Global de Wrapped en Spotify, con 19...
03/12/2025
Spotify Wrapped is back, and as always, it's powered by the billions of streams that fans around the world delivered throughout the year. From the artists w...
03/12/2025
Spotify Wrapped is the moment when hundreds of millions of fans around the world...
03/12/2025
With more than 700 million listeners around the world turning to Spotify to soundtrack their lives, it's time to look back at the audio that defined the yea...
03/12/2025
Con m s de 700 millones de oyentes en todo el mundo usando Spotify para acompa ar su d a a d a, es momento de mirar hacia atr s y ver el audio que marc el a o....
03/12/2025
From page-turning thrillers to inspiring memoirs, audiobooks are becoming a core...
03/12/2025
Com mais de 700 milh es de ouvintes em todo o mundo recorrendo ao Spotify para embalar seu dia a dia, chega o momento de revisitar o udio que marcou o ano. Nos...
03/12/2025
Spotify Wrapped celebrates the audio that defined our year, and the annual globa...
03/12/2025
Wuppertal December 3, 2025
Riedel and Haivision Join Forces to Advance Wireless Video TransmissionRiedel Communications today announced a new partnership with...
03/12/2025
Tell us a little bit about your job I am a Digital Marketing Executive working on Paid Social, PPC, and Organic Social. I joined the team in May 2025 and am enj...
03/12/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. and VIENNA - Dec. 3, 2025 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) and Normann...
03/12/2025
S an Nollaig
Celebrate 2025's top Irish sporting stars with RT Sport Awards live from RT Studios on RT One and RT Player
RT pays tribute to Ror...
02/12/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
02/12/2025
--
The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and the International Telecommunication Unio...
02/12/2025
Harmonic's cOS Platform Will Redefine Subscribers' Quality of Experience, Lowering Churn SAN JOSE, Calif. - Dec. 2, 2025 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today...
02/12/2025
S an Nollaig
Hollywood blockbusters The Banshees of Inisherin, Barbie and Oppenheimer make their Irish TV debut
Tune into the classics such as Love Actual...
02/12/2025
Showcasing fresh Irish storytelling and emerging talent Storyland 2025 signals a fantastic time for Irish drama
RT and F s ireann/Screen Ireland are proud to...
01/12/2025
MANCHESTER, UK - November 2025 - Announced two days before the 30th anniversary of Oasis' debut album, Definitely Maybe, the Oasis Live '25 tour marks t...
01/12/2025
01 Dec 2025
Kyivstar and Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation Select Go...
01/12/2025
The prequel to the global hit Sky Original mob crime saga, Gomorrah' is a s...
01/12/2025
Featuring Florence Welch, Red Hot Chilli Peppers' Flea, designer Bella Freud...
01/12/2025
Fox Corporation Chief Financial Officer Steve Tomsic to Participate in Upcoming ...
01/12/2025
Arvato Systems' Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) Receives BSI C5 Certification (T...
01/12/2025
Summary This short video gives you an summary of the changes in under two minutes.
--...
01/12/2025
As the festive season approaches, RT Supporting the Arts is proud to showcase a...
01/12/2025
Festive specials of Christmas in Kilmainham presented by Marty Whelan, High Road Low Road, Callan Kicks the Year and Keys to My Life
Ring in the New Year with ...
01/12/2025
Architect and television presenter Hugh Wallace, best known to RT audiences as a long-serving judge on Home of the Year, has died at the age of 68.
In a state...
28/11/2025
It's easy to ignore those little red update available badges. But when it ...
28/11/2025
Friday 28 November 2025
Sky Sports x Slawn drop limited-edition football jersey...
28/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz shows resilience in a challenging environment, revenue exceeds t...
28/11/2025
Unwrapped: The Toy Show Appeal - airing this Sunday on RT One and RT Player- s...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
11 minute read 
