Study shows young Asians inseparable from their mobiles

Singaporean youth top in Asia who couldn’t live without mobile as 93% of them own device.

From sunrise to sunset, with the many occasions taking place in between, the latest Young Asians survey by global market research firm Synovate shows the lives of Asia’s youth revolve around their mobile phones. Personal ownership of mobiles has increased from 60% in 2008 to 64% in 2010 among this young population surveyed. Hong Kong jumped from 82% to 87% of youth owning a mobile, while Singapore went from 80% to 85%.

This 5th Synovate Young Asians study provides an in-depth look at the lifestyles, habits, product ownership and media consumption of youth across Asia. Respondents ranged from eight to 24 years old across 11 markets in Asia, covering China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. A total sample of 12,302 youth was surveyed by face to face interviews and online method during Q2 of 2010.

Comments Miranda Cheung, Managing Director of Synovate in Singapore: “Young Asians continue to be the guidepost on lifestyles and habits of youth across Asia. In conjunction with our research sponsors – Friendster, Microsoft Advertising and Yahoo! - we are uncovering the driving forces that influence Asia’s youth.

“This year, we see that the mobile phone is playing an increasingly important role. More youth across a number of Asia markets now own a mobile phone compared to 2008. With one in five (18%) young Asian planning to use their mobile even more often, these findings show the great potential of this medium.”

Staying in touch
Sixty-four percent of young Asians surveyed own a mobile phone. Hong Kong is leading the pack with 87% of youth possessing this multifunctional extension of themselves, followed by 85% of Singaporean and Korean youth.

When looking at the results by age segments, 93% of youth between age 12 to 14 in Hong Kong and Singapore own a mobile phone, above the regional average of 47%.

Explains Cheung: “Age 12 to 14 is when most youth enter secondary schools. They are widening their peer group, gaining independence, and likely needing to travel further from home to attend school so there is a need to still keep in touch with family and friends throughout the day. These are all reasons for needing a mobile phone.

“Family members for this age group living in affluent markets like Singapore and Hong Kong can afford a second, third, or more mobile phones for the family. Along with cheaper mobile phone plans available in these markets, there is no reason for youth not to have a mobile. Interestingly, the giving of a mobile phone in these markets seems like a signature that they are growing up in the world.”

Among youth surveyed who own a mobile phone in Asia, the average number of contacts on their mobile is 77 people, which is more than the number of their instant messaging buddies (74 people) and email contacts (55 people).

Topping the chart with the most contacts on their mobile phones are Indonesians (131 contacts), Singaporeans (108 contacts) and Filipinos (102 contacts).

“Mobile phone is an essential communication tool for Singaporean youth,” says Cheung.“This is the key device they use to stay in touch with those most important to them.”

“New to this year’s Young Asians survey, we found that youth ranked family as most important in their lives (83% regionally, 80% in Singapore), followed by health (52% regionally, 48% in Singapore) then friends (39% regionally, 47% in Singapore). The method that Singaporean youth chose to stay in touch with family and friends locally is by mobile phone call and SMS, more than through instant messaging and social networking. This shows the importance of their mobile in keeping them connected to life and everyone close around them,” adds Cheung.

Beyond communication, it’s entertainment
Listening to music, playing games and taking photos are just some of the activities that youth turn to their mobile phone to offer. Among Asian youth who own a mobile phone, about half perform the above activities on their mobile. One in five (21%) also uses this device to record video.

In Singapore, the most popular mobile phone activities over the past 7 days are SMS (82%), listening to music (57%), taking pictures (54%) and playing games (52%).

Cheung comments, “Mobile phones provide multiple forms of interaction and functions - quite fitting for the spontaneous lifestyles of youth.”

I go online with my mobile
Among mobile phone owners, twenty percent of youth surveyed across Asia use their mobile to surf the Internet, 17% engage in instant messaging, and 15% visit and update their profiles on social networking sites.

Top groups regionally which show exceptional online activities through mobile are youth in China and Singapore. They are the top two markets where youth use their mobile to surf the Internet (44% China, 24% Singapore), send/ receive instant messages (34% China, 23% Singapore), and email (19% China, 16% Singapore).

Comments Steve Garton, Executive Director of Media Research for Synovate: “Once, when we considered the impact of the Internet and the hot topic of social media, we thought of access through the computer. Now we have friends and social networks in the palm of our hands.

“With increasing ownership of smart phones and availability of infrastructure for mobile Internet connectivity, we foresee more and more youth accessing all that the Internet offers through their mobile. It’s on the go and so convenient.”

Opportunities for mobile marketing
While 25% of Singaporean youth age 15 to 24 indicated they would rather pay a higher price to avoid getting ads on pay TV (compared to 36% regionally), one in three (32%, compare to 29% regionally) doesn’t mind receiving or responding to ads on their mobile phones in return for getting paid/incentivised.

A further 24% indicated they would like to receive more ads on their mobile even with no incentives involved, which is similar to the regional average, showing their willingness to receive more information through this medium.

Garton says, “This shows the opportunities here and now for mobile marketing. Youth in Asia are looking to receive the latest information to wow their peers, so reaching them through mobile is the most immediate way to gain their attention.”