Use of mobile phone continue to transform lives
While social interactions have been behind recent rise in use of cell phones in Bangladesh, work demands will be the push in coming days, said Telenor Asia Head Jorgen C Arentz Rostrup
Even after an unparalleled pace of digital adoption, mobile data usage has continued to march on, more than doubling in two years of the pandemic, the Telenor Asia study published last week said.
A total of 73% of people in Bangladesh are expected to use more mobile internet in the coming years, said Telenor Asia Head Jorgen C Arentz Rostrup at the publishing event at a hotel in Dhaka.
The key behind this is work demands, he said, adding that in the last six-twelve months, the majority had been using it for social interactions instead.
Telenor, the parent company of the country's largest telecom operator Grameenphone, conducted the study among 8,000 mobile internet users across eight South and Southeast Asian countries to understand how people engage with mobile phones, their thoughts on digital life and mobile connectivity's role in shaping how people live and work.
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The other seven countries included are Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
In his keynote, Rostrup, also chairman of Grameenphone, shared how connectivity is empowering users with more economic opportunity, daily convenience, and greater access to essential services.
"Bangladeshi respondents shared a phenomenally enthusiastic and optimistic mood over mobile connectivity and digital services," he said.
Of the respondents in Bangladesh, 91% used their phones for at least half a day, with 20% always using their phones, according to the study titled "Digital Lives Decoded" which was released on the occasion of Telenor Asia's 25th anniversary.
A total of 31% users born between the late 1990s and the early 2010s, known as Gen Z, said they were never without their phone.
On digital balance, 71% of Bangladeshi respondents said they struck a good balance.
Mobile Connectivity: Enabler of inclusion and quality of life
In Bangladesh, a resounding 91% of the respondents said mobile connectivity improved the quality of their lives, made it more convenient and easier to be a part of the digital economy and also bettered their social relationships, said Rostrup.
"People were found enthusiastic about mobile connectivity bringing better access to essential services – healthcare, finances and education," Rostrup said, with rural populations more appreciative.
A standout finding was that women were more grateful for the daily convenience found in a connected life, Jorgen C Arentz Rostrup added.
The study showed that 59% of Bangladeshi female mobile internet users said connectivity significantly improved their lives, while it was 30% for men. The regional average rates were 63% and 52% respectively.
Going deeper into the numbers, Telenor found women had better and more options to generate income (38%) and access information and essential services due to digital adoption.
Of the women, 48% said connectivity ensured better daily decision making, while 41% of the men felt the same.
"When a woman can get online using a mobile, she can earn more, be more efficient, learn new skills, look after her finances and so on," said Rostrup.
Of them, 64% find better access to education services because of mobile internet connection, while 55% feel the same for healthcare services.
Bangladeshi respondents (72% women, 67% men) felt more strongly that mobile devices and mobile technology significantly improved their career and skill developments, said Rostrup.
In a panel discussion at the report publishing event, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Bangladesh Van Nguyen said in her country Vietnam mobile connectivity had transformed lives of people in big cities while the urban rural gap was closing due to government focus on rural connectivity.
With mobile connectivity, the rural women could financially contribute to their family.
"Connectivity is the enabler of the digital future," she said.
In the age of fintech, technology is enabling greater financial inclusion.
A total of 94% respondents in Bangladesh feel that mobile connectivity increased their access to financial services.
"Inclusion is a more and more important concept for us all in developing as societies and human beings," said Telenor Asia Head Rostrup.
The narrowing digital divide
Besides inclusion of more women, mobile connectivity is also bridging the urban-rural gap.
Grameenphone, earlier this year, demonstrated how rural people in Bangladesh are using mobile technology to take advantage in a digital world.
In March, some IT freelancer communities in Madhupur, Tangail were struggling with their slow internet. Grameenphone brought high speed internet to four of these communities, helping them develop their skills, businesses, and maintain a good living.
"It unleashed a tremendous economic opportunity that can be sparked by expanding mobile usage when people have the right tools and knowledge to accompany this," Rostrup said.
"In simple words, technology removes inequality. What one is doing sitting in Dhaka, we take it to rural" said Grameenphone chief executive officer Yasir Azman in a panel discussion.
Urban-rural gap found to have been significantly narrowed down in Vietnam where 66% rural urban have the equal mind to learn and deliver that refers to digital competency, said Dr Asif Naimur Rashid, chief business officer of Grameenphone who moderated the panel discussion.
The need for digital upskilling
Raising some concern, 97% respondents in Bangladesh expressed worries about keeping pace with technological changes and developments, while the regional average of respondents concerned about developing relevant necessary skills was 85%.
A total of 68% of the Gen Z and 69% of millennials –kids of the early 1980s and the mid-1990s – felt the same.
"It emphasises the importance of lifelong learning and investing in building digital skills," Rostrup said.
Emerging as a response to this problem, Grameenphone Academy came about in partnership with CISCO to use digital learning to help young people build skills they need.
For example, Sadmeena Mahreen Promi, a female graduate, who struggled in starting her career, before enrolling in the first GP Explorer programme, graduating to secure a digital marketing role in one of the biggest consumer businesses in Bangladesh.
Security, privacy concerns in the digital world
Privacy and security concerns about mobile devices were registered across the region, with Bangladesh having an alarming rate of 97%.
Baby Boomers –born in the mid-1940s to the mid-1960s - reported significant improvements to quality of life from using their mobile phones (71%), but also expressed most concern (89%) about privacy and security, which was less so for the youth.
Child Health Research Foundation's Director and Scientist Senjuti Saha said, "It is our parents who are at risk of misinformation, being scammed, because they have not learned in a systematic way. We have to be extremely careful and it is our turn now to ensure that our parents are safe online."
Furthermore, of the Bangladeshi respondents, 74% believe that digital access is very beneficial in leading a greener life.
Some 69% believe the greatest benefits come in the areas of reducing paper, waste, and electricity consumption while 74% praised how mobile connectivity facilitates and often reduces in-person trips.
"Seeing people achieving goals through mobile is the strong hold that we achieve a lot in a better connected world," said Rostrup.
