9 minute read
Share
Download full report PDF
Survey Findings (Infographics) PDF
Read the press release
From virtual worlds to real-life communities, mobile access has flipped how we spend our downtime on its head.
The third instalment in our Digital Lives Decoded series examines the changing spectrum of people's leisure-time pursuits and pastimes - supercharged by a more digitally-savvy, post-pandemic population.
Two-thirds of people socialise more online than they do in real life, but rather than this being a negative trend, more than half of our respondents feel more socially connected.
People are convincingly upbeat about mobile's impact on their social lives, helping them stay better connected with loved ones and build virtual communities with strangers based on shared interests. People also spend much of their downtime tapping into online education or on-the-go learning apps. Close to one-third access educational apps daily, while four in ten believe the learning enabled by mobile technology has significantly improved their lives.
The standout finding from this report is around gaming. Mobile access has changed how people game and who gamers are. Thanks to the mobile, gaming has become a mass phenomenon, embedding virtual interactions and virtual worlds into daily life. This pastime is more inclusive and accessible than ever, reaching across genders and generations. The increased number of people playing games is also driven by a relatively recent phenomenon: social gaming. Close to half of those surveyed expect to spend even more time on this in the next two years.
We see that gaming is positively impacting real-life communities, reinforcing relationships and transforming how we go about daily tasks. With that growth comes higher expectations of network operators as people seek more dependable, faster networks. Consumers recognise that this comes at a premium.
The metaverse has enormous potential as a gaming platform of the future. While it is yet to capture the interests of consumers fully, people do recognise that their mobile phones have put a portal to the future in their hands as the metaverse slowly edges towards reality. The growing interest in the metaverse is creating an opportunity for telecom operators to expand beyond the traditional towards new capabilities and services - becoming not only an enabler of the technology through the provision of 5G capabilities but also a co-creator in the metaverse.
With all the new possibilities paved by the mobile, the average mobile user today literally has the world at his or her fingertips. Moving from passive users to active co-creators in virtual realities, they will become the new face of the customer that we as network operators and businesses need to understand and keep up with. We hope the third part of our study will help to shed some light on the changing face of today's consumers as they live, work and play.
Jorgen C. Arentz Rostrup
Head of Telenor Asia
Overview Digital Lives Decoded is a three-part series - released in conjunction with Telenor's 25th anniversary in Asia - looking at the role of mobile relationships in how we live, work, and play. The third and concluding instalment surveyed over 8,000 consumers across eight markets in South and Southeast Asia on the impact mobile devices are having on the way we spend our downtime.
Consumers in Asia are turning to mobile devices to boost their leisure time, switching downtime pursuits into up-time' opportunities. Nine in ten people are more dependent on their phone for leisure now than two years ago and nearly half (47%) say their reliance has increased significantly.
The habits we formed during the pandemic seem to have become hard-wired in the way we live our lives today. Two-thirds (66%) say they now socialise more online than in real life and over half now feel more connected to friends and family. While younger generations are spending more time socialising online than their older peers, Baby Boomers feel most connected to their loved ones as a result of mobile technology.
Around half of respondents spend more than three hours a day using social media, and just over one in ten (12%) spend more than seven hours per day. This is greater than the time spent on gaming, streaming content, listening to music or podcasts and investing, and looks set to grow.
The new face of gaming is mobile Across the region, China, Japan, and South Korea lead the gaming market, but Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Thailand are quickly catching up. This surge in gaming is evident among respondents surveyed. Four out of five respondents play mobile games in some way, with close to a third (31%) playing every single day. And it's not just the stereotypes of young men playing; our research shows that there is an even split among men and women.
Just as social media has allowed communities to create content and interact with each other, we have also seen the growth in social gaming taking these opportunities one step further - empowering people to step into and interact with others in virtual worlds.
Mobile devices are turning downtime pursuits into upside opportunities Respondents across the region are increasingly looking to their mobile devices for 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 experience the benefits. More than half of Gen-Zs (51%) surveyed said that learning on their mobile has significantly improved their quality of life.
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 ...
9 minute read 
