Think you’re addicted to your phone? There’s now evidence to show that we are. According to the new “State of Digital Lifestyles” report from Limelight Networks (Nasdaq: LLNW), mobile phones have become such an integral part of daily life that more than half of Singaporeans surveyed say they could not go a single day without them. They found that people in Singapore are increasingly dependent on internet-connected devices, with 83 percent reporting that digital technology has made a positive impact on their lives.
Researching on the Real Issues
Respondents in ten countries were asked how they interact with digital media and the impact of technology in their lives. When asked how long they could part with their favorite digital devices, 48 percent of global consumers and 58 percent of consumers in Singapore reported that they would not be able to stop using their mobile phones for even one day. Desktop computers and laptops were the second most integral technology, with 36 percent of Singaporean respondents reporting they could not go a day without theirs.
Consumers have yet to widely embrace digital assistants such as Amazon Echo and Google Home. In Singapore, only 14 percent currently own one of the devices, 5 per cent below the global average of 19 per cent. The main hurdle to adoption is that only 35 percent of Singaporean consumers fully trust digital assistants to provide general information such as weather, news and research. Less than one-third (28 percent) fully trust digital assistants for online shopping, and just 24 percent trust them for home automation.
Additional Insights from the Report
Security concerns were highest among Singaporeans when using internet-connected devices. Globally, Singaporean consumers have expressed the most concerns over security and possible hacking into digital assistants (51 percent), security devices (51 percent), home automation products (42 percent) as well as health and fitness trackers (30 percent).
Entertainment has gone digital, with streaming as the preferred method of accessing multimedia content. In Singapore, 48 percent prefer to stream music, while 64 percent of consumers prefer to stream movies and television shows online rather than downloading or using DVDs, more than any other country in Asia.
Yet, Singaporean consumers are least likely to pay to download or stream online content globally. Globally, consumers in South Korea, the U.K and Germany are most willing to pay for content, but Singapore and Malaysia consumers are the least likely to pay. However, if they do pay for digital content, Singaporeans are more likely to pay for movies and TV shows (38 per cent) than any other digital content.
The State of Digital Lifestyles report is based on responses from 5,000 consumers in France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States age 18 and older who had downloaded software or streamed online video or music during the last month.
