Universiti Sains Malaysia senior lecturer Dr Mohd Heikal Husin said based on the recent Handphone Users Survey 2021 by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, the overall penetration rate of smartphones in the country was 94.8%.
He said the younger generations are often attached to their smartphones because of the high-level interaction and connectivity that their devices provide compared with other devices or real-world activities.“When I say ‘included’, it relates to a fear of missing out without being part of something. Of those who shunned the use of ewallets, 49.6% said they lacked the knowledge, skill or confidence to operate them.Mohd Heikal said the top smartphone uses among Malaysians include texting, social networking and video calls.
“Perhaps the next jump is for outputs from smartphones to be fed into wearables. There are now smart watches and earbuds. There are now goggles that feed images to bring a virtual or augmented environment.