Her digital habits
A study aimed to find out how mobile connectivity impacts women’s lives and daily routines, writes Kasmiah Mustapha
FOR years, it has been shown that people spend most of their time on various social media sites. Regardless of age, gender or profession, studies have found that social media is increasingly becoming a part of everyday life.
In yet another study on the impact of technology, it was revealed that 67 per cent of professional women in Malaysia checked their social media news feeds before going to sleep at night.
Another two per cent used messaging applications for professional correspondence while three per cent sent work-related emails.
The findings were based on Telenor Group’s Tech Trends: Women survey which involved over 1,300 women aged 25 to 40. Out of the participants, 208 were from Malaysia. It also involved women from Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, Sweden and Norway.
The survey was to understand women’s habits and attitudes towards mobile connectivity and how it affected their daily routine. The markets surveyed represent a range of economies, socio-political systems, stages of industrial development and mobile penetration.
It was also found that 24 per cent of Malaysian women felt that their mobile usage granted them the flexibility to work anywhere while 21 per cent noted improvements in managing work-life balance.
Around 62 per cent said that mobile technology can contribute positively to information and knowledge sharing, 45 per cent chose easy banking and payment and access and 23 per cent leaned towards information and access to health and medical services.
EASY ACCESS
Only eight per cent of Malaysian women involved in the survey said that it was unacceptable to use their phone in the evenings at home, while flying in an airplane and attending job interviews were the top two situations where phones are off limits.
When it came to views of a “womenonly” Internet, 40 per cent were for it, whereas 39 per cent were neutral and 21 per cent objected to it.
Telenor Group vice-president of product management and user research Erica Gibson said the women who were involved in the survey agreed that the mobile phone is one of the tools that helps them shape and balance their personal lives with their professional lives.
“The mobile phone seems to be less of a leash to the office than we expected. We are seeing well-educated, professional women turn to mobile devices for entertainment, maintaining personal connections, and providing a break from the rigours of their busy lives.
“The survey has given us more crystallised and very useful insights into female digital habits and user needs. We wanted to talk to women about this because we know that they hold large stakes in connectivity and access to information and services, which they make clear in this survey,” said Gibson.
For the full survey report and to download illustrations, visit www.telenor.com.