Switching off by switching on: Consumers in Asia are turning to their mobiles to boost leisure pursuits

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

People across Asia are increasingly switching downtime pursuits into ‘up-time’ opportunities, according to the latest installment of a study into people’s Digital Lives by Telenor Asia. 

In Asia, people are socialising more online than they do in-person. Nearly half of the respondents said they meet new people regularly online and three-quarters of them expect to spend even more time socialising via social media apps in the coming years. People are also spending a good chunk of their leisure time tapping into mobile technology for online investing, social gaming as well as on-the-go learning apps and podcasts.

This study forms the third and final part of the Telenor Asia “Digital Lives Decoded” series, launched in 2022 in conjunction with Telenor Asia’s 25th Anniversary. The series sought to understand the role of mobile connectivity in how we live, work, and play, surveying over 8,000 mobile internet users across eight countries (Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, the  Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam) in South and Southeast Asia. This concluding report examines the changing spectrum of consumers’ leisure-time pursuits – supercharged by a more digitally-savvy, post-pandemic user base. “The standout finding from these results is how mobile technology has transformed gaming. Mobile access has turned gaming into a mass phenomenon, embedding virtual interactions and virtual worlds into daily life. We see now that gaming is bringing positive impact to real-life communities, reinforcing relationships and making other areas of daily life like work, healthcare or learning more efficient,” said Jørgen C. Arentz Rostrup, Head of Telenor Asia.

“This growth comes with even higher expectations of mobile operators as people seek more dependable, faster mobile networks. The trends from this Digital Lives Decoded study highlight the opportunity for operators to expand beyond the traditional towards new capabilities and services, becoming not only an enabler of the technology but also a partner in the virtual world,” he added. 

1. Social media still second nature

Some of the habits formed during the two-plus years of the pandemic are becoming hard-wired in the way we live our lives today, with two-thirds (66%) of people saying they now socialise more online than in real life. 

Younger generations tend to spend more time socialising online, but Baby Boomers say that mobile technology is helping them feel more connected to their loved ones. More than half of our respondents (55%) say they feel better connected to people they know because of social media, with respondents in Thailand (63%) and Bangladesh (61%) responding most positively, while nearly half (47%) regularly meet new people online.

As seen in previous reports, Singaporeans are the least likely to recognise the benefits of mobile technology on their day-to-day lives. They are also the least dependent on their mobiles for downtime activities (32% versus 47% overall) and the least likely to socialise more virtually than in-person (49%).

2. The new face of gaming is mobile

Four out of five people play some mobile game, with close to a third (31%) playing every single day, led by those in Thailand (44%) and Vietnam (41%). Our research suggests that stereotypes on gamers need updating as this pastime now reaches across genders and generations. This development points to the positive role of mobile in making gaming more inclusive and accessible than ever before. 

In-game spend continues to grow in appeal with half of those surveyed spending some disposable income on gaming and in-game features while nearly a third of people spend between US$10-100 per year. Those in Singapore represent the largest spenders with one in five people spending between US$100-300 per year on in-game items. 

Growing popularity of the social side of gaming is also evident in the findings with close to two￾thirds (64%) of respondents either watching eSports or video game streams, led by those in Vietnam (76%) and Bangladesh (71%). Nearly half of the respondents expect an increase in the time they spend on social gaming going forward, led by respondents in Thailand (62% versus 45% overall). 

3. Downtime becomes uptime

Respondents across the region are increasingly looking to their mobile devices for self￾improvement, personal upskilling and development. 40% of respondents are using mobile devices to tap into learning and educational apps or websites, with women and younger generations most likely to say they feel the benefits. In particular, more than half of Gen-Zs (51%) surveyed said that learning on their mobile has significantly improved their quality of life, in contrast to only one quarter (25%) of older generations.

The growing desire for consumers in the region to learn on-the-go and enhance their personal development during downtime is reflected by 45% of respondents who spend at least an hour a day listening to podcasts, with respondents in Thailand (66%) and Pakistan (65%) most likely to do so. Singaporeans are least likely to experience benefits from using such apps, with only 20% feeling that they significantly improve quality of life, compared to a 40% average. 

4. The Metaverse is yet to truly convince

Looking to the future of play, while there is growing interest in virtual reality, our study indicates that people are currently on the fence about shifting their downtime activities to the metaverse, defined as a virtual world where people, digital platforms and businesses and co￾exist and interact. 

Just over one-third (39%) of respondents are keen to socialise and make new friends in the Metaverse. Singaporeans are the most resistant or sceptical about this, with only 26% keen to explore this possibility. In contrast, respondents in the Philippines are the most enthusiastic, with more than half (55%) keen to do so. 

5. Will on-demand content lose ground?

Streaming on-demand content is a top activity people are spending time on daily. 63% of respondents spend at least an hour a day doing so on their mobile phones, coming in second to listening to music (65%) and more than gaming (59%). Millennials and Gen X are more likely to stream on-demand content than Gen Z, who prefer to spend their downtime on social media or gaming. Across the region, Thai respondents are likely to spend the most amount of time – with 8% estimating that they spend 7-8 hours per day streaming content on-demand, compared to an average of 3% of respondents across the region.

Although video streaming has disrupted the media and entertainment industry, the study revealed that streaming on-demand content does not have the same pull or staying power as other mobile activities. As compared to socialising through social media apps (74%) or online social gaming (45%), only 37% of respondents said they expect to spend on more time on this in the next one to two years.

Balinsasayao Twin Lakes Provide Water for Half-a-Million People

Wazzup Pilipinas!?

Balinsasayao’s Twin Lakes on a sunny day. Earth’s lakes and watersheds serve as natural reservoirs for freshwater, fueling agriculture and keeping faucets flowing in the lowlands. (DENR / DOT)

Sibulan, Negros Oriental – Lake Balinsasayao is reputedly among the most beautiful bodies of water in the Visayas, its shimmering surface reflecting the vibrant turquoise of the heavens, rung by verdant walls of green, broken only by rolling mists.

If only we could see it.

We’re perched on a view deck, drenched by sheets of near-horizontal rain. With a crew from the country’s top television network, we’re trying to catch a glimpse of the lake below, but all we can see is a solid wall of white. We couldn’t just see the mist. We were inside it.

By a freak twist of fate, our visit to the famed lake coincided with the arrival of a powerful storm. Initially hoping to photograph the lake’s colorful sunbirds and flowerpeckers, we now had no choice but to wait for the weather to clear.

“Balinsasayao’s twin lakes are known mostly by tourists escaping the seaside humidity of Dumaguete, but they also serve as a vital watershed for the province of Negros Oriental,” explained Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Officer (PENRO) Viernov Grifalde a day before.

The twin lakes of Balinsasayao and Danao serve as headwaters for five major river systems including the Amlan, Ayuquitan, Hinotongan, Okoy and Cauitan Rivers. “These natural water reservoirs collect rainwater, supplying half-a-million people with potable water all year.”

Nearly 60% of the Philippines’ land area forms 142 critical watersheds. Watersheds work best when provided with healthy forests, as the trees help absorb rainwater. The country’s watersheds however, are facing numerous threats, including illegal logging, charcoal-making and destructive kaingin or slash-and-burn farming.

“We’ve fortunately managed to minimize these activities by combining effective enforcement and field patrols with a vigorous communications and public awareness campaign,” adds Viernov. “For centuries, the Balinsasayao Twin Lakes have protected both upland and lowland communities from the worst effects of storms, floods and droughts by stabilizing the local climate and water distribution. We at the Department of the Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) have been doing our best to protect the park, so our people can continue reaping its natural services.”

Declared as a protected area in 2000, the Balinsasayao Twin Lakes Natural Park spans 8016.05 hectares and is among six featured areas for the Year of the Protected Areas (YoPA), a yearlong campaign to highlight the critical role played by the country’s 247 protected areas for both people and nature.

Launched in May 2022, YoPA is being spearheaded by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the United Nations Development Programme’s Biodiversity Finance Project (UNDP-BIOFIN), the Department of Tourism (DOT), the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) and various local governments.

The campaign’s six featured protected areas include Masbate’s Bongsanglay Natural Park, Occidental Mindoro’s Apo Reef Natural Park, Samar Island Natural Park, Davao Oriental’s Mt. Hamiguitan Range Wildlife Sanctuary, Camiguin’s Mt. Timpoong Hibok-Hibok Natural Monument, plus Negros Oriental’s Balinsasayao Twin Lakes Natural Park, home to endangered flora like the Almaciga tree and rarely-seen fauna like the reclusive Visayan Spotted Deer.

“Birdwatchers come from across the sea to see and photograph the colorful birds in the park. The world’s rarest deer are said to live right in those hills,” points DENR’s Sargie Dura when the mists briefly lifted to allow us a fleeting glimpse of the jade-hued peaks above.

We’ve waited all morning and with worsening weather, we settled for lunch – the highlight being various dishes made from ‘pako’ or vegetable fern.

It was either the bone-chilling 16-degree cold or the potent vinegar lacing the fern salad I was crunching on, but I seemed to have a watershed moment – that all the world’s protected areas are reservoirs or ‘reserves’ for life: from the tiny ferns grown and harvested for salad to deer that were driven up the most inaccessible areas. These reserves also produce the basic elements for life – clean water, clean air and in the case of the Balinsasayao Twin Lakes Natural Park, clean energy through its active geothermal vents.

“Our planet’s protected areas aren’t just great places to visit. They all serve key ecological functions – from providing habitats to endangered wildlife to generating the water which keeps our faucets flowing,” concludes BIOFIN Global Manager Onno van den Heuvel. “This World Wetlands Day, let’s visit and support our local watersheds, our local reservoirs of life.” 

The Balinsasayao Twin Lakes Natural Park lies in the Talinis Mountain Range, some 15 kilometers west of Dumaguete City in Negros Oriental. The park covers portions of the municipalities of Valencia, Sibulan and San Jose and features two high-altitude crater lakes. Balinsasayao is larger at 76 hectares, followed by Danao at 30 hectares. The area is renowned not just for its cool climate and unique biodiversity, but for providing over half-a-million people with freshwater. (DENR / DOT)

Whiteout. Our composite team from the United Nations and the DENR was met by a powerful storm. This is what most of our expedition looked like. With the wind chill, the temperature dropped to around 16 degrees. (Gregg Yan / UNDP-BIOFIN)

Exploring the lake. Less rainy days allow visitors to take twin-hulled catamarans and pencil-hulled kayaks around the lake. (Angelique Ogena / UNDP-BIOFIN)

Kabalin-an pond silently sits astride the visitor center and spans 2.4 hectares. It hosts swaying stands of Indian Willow (Salix tetrasperma), whose bark yields the salicylic acid we use to combat dandruff and oily skin. The world’s forests and watersheds help supply people with clean air, timber, water and medicine. (Gregg Yan / UNDP-BIOFIN)

Raging river. Watersheds naturally capture water from rain. Shown is a river flowing down the hills of Valencia in Negros Oriental. (Gregg Yan / UNDP-BIOFIN)

 
Keeping the tap flowing. Although water covers 71% of our planet, lakes, rivers and streams contain just 0.01% of its water. Over a billion people around the world have zero access to safe drinking water, making it one of the most important resources of all. (Gregg Yan / UNDP-BIOFIN)

 

Fantastic ferns. The Balinsasayao Twin Lakes are famed for the delicious ‘pako’ or vegetable fern (Diplazium esculentum) which sprouts wild around the park. The ferns are rinsed and served as salad, used to garnish other dishes or even mixed into ricecakes to make delectable desserts. The park hosts 237 plant species and 124 of them are ferns. (Gregg Yan / UNDP-BIOFIN)

 

Here be dragons. Philippine sailfin dragons (Hydrosaurus pustulatus) can be seen basking around the Balinsasayao Twin Lakes Natural Park on sunny days. As a protected area, it is also a haven for birds and mammals. (Gregg Yan)

Rarest deer on Earth. Beautifully-patterned Visayan spotted deer (Rusa alfredi) still survive in the remote forests and mountains of Negros, including the Balinsasayao Twin Lakes. This captive individual was rescued in Negros Occidental. (Gregg Yan)

Tiny treasure. A harlequin tree frog (Rhacophorus pardalis) stands out among the broad leaves of the forest. More time spent in the country’s protected areas gives visitors better chances to notice tiny treasures. (Michael Hidlao / DENR PAMO-BTLNP).

MATATAG: DepEd’s new agenda to resolve basic education woes

Wazzup Pilipinas!?



Vice President and Secretary of Education Sara Z. Duterte on Monday launched MATATAG: Bansang Makabata, Batang Makabansa, to set the new direction of the agency and stakeholders in resolving basic education challenges.

Addressing around 400 education stakeholders, led by no less than President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in attendance, VP-Secretary Duterte laid down the challenges and recent accomplishments of DepEd, before unveiling the new battle cry of the basic education sector.

“We will rally for an improved learning system in the country. Together, we will rally for every Filipino child. Para sa isang MATATAG na Bayan. Para sa ating mahal na Pilipinas," Duterte emphasized in her Basic Education Report (BER) for 2023.

According to Duterte, MATATAG will have four critical components:


•MAke the curriculum relevant to produce competent and job-ready, active, and responsible citizens;

•TAke steps to accelerate delivery of basic education facilities and services;

•TAke good care of learners by promoting learner well-being, inclusive education, and a positive learning environment; and

•Give support to teachers to teach better.

"We know that the road will be bumpy, but our direction is clear. We know that the challenges are vast, but we Filipinos are resilient. We will overcome,” Duterte added, noting that her interest in the future of Philippine education is very personal.

In her BER, VP-Sec. Duterte also provided the specific directions and initiatives that will comprise the four components, including improving the curriculum by focusing on foundational skills and embedding peace competencies, building more resilient schools and classrooms, strengthening inclusive education programs, advocating for teachers’ additional benefits, and providing professional development programs, among others.

In addition, Duterte reiterated her commitment to give ample support to the thousands of teachers in the country.

“We thank you for your sacrifices. Maraming salamat po sa inyong dedikasyon. Hindi po namin kayo pababayaan,” she said.

Duterte also urged the stakeholders to join DepEd in building a MATATAG nation.

“Improving access, equity, equality, resiliency, and well-being will not happen overnight, nor it can be done by DepEd alone. We need a national commitment and sustained effort from all sectors of the society,” she stressed.

After the launch of MATATAG, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr, VP-Sec. Duterte, Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, Rep. Roman Romulo, and other education partners penned their commitments and support for the new basic education agenda.