Prologue
The spread of smartphones and social media in
ASEAN countries over the last decade has been
nothing short of remarkable. It Is no exaggeration to
say that social media is now the main source of
information for ASEAN sei-katsu-sha−our term for
the holistic person.
However, looking forward to the next ten years,
technologies that could be the “next smartphone”
have in recent years been showing signs of
spreading one after another in Japan, China, the US
and elsewhere. The Internet of things (IoT), artificial
intelligence (AI), connected cars, smart speakers and other new technologies are beginning to change sei-katsu-sha’s behavior around the world.
other new technologies are beginning to change
sei-katsu-sha’s behavior around the world.
So what changes will occur when ASEAN sei-katsu-sha
encounter technologies like these? And how will their
interactions with companies and brands change?
This time, we discuss behavioral changes and changes
in interactions with brands that will result from new
technologies, drawing on independent research,
including case studies of extreme users in ASEAN.
We also explain what companies and brands should
do to respond quickly to these changes.
Introduction
Facebook was launched for public in 2006. Apple’s first iPhone was released
in 2007. These things happened only about 10 years ago. The adoption of
the smartphone in the last decade has dramatically changed the lives of ASEAN
sei-katsu-sha.
This photo was taken in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam in the of summer 2015.
A woman working at a food stand holding the latest smartphone shows the
degree to which the smartphone had spread at the time, but it is hardly
remarkable now.
Today, ASEAN is one of the world’s most mobile connected regions. The per
capita penetration of mobile phones here tops even that of the developed
regions of the world.
(The number of mobile connections
compared to population : not unique users)
Our question is: looking forward to the next 10 years, what technologies will
change ASEAN sei-katsu-sha’s lives and how?
What’s next after smartphone ?
The role of media has changed markedly with advances in device technology.
The spread of television ushered in mass media, and mass products and
mass trends moved the masses. The spread of personal computers and the
Internet brought Internet media, giving sei-katsu-sha the ability to search for
and disseminate information themselves. Then the penetration of mobile
phones and smartphones enabled sei-katsu-sha to connect to the internet
anytime, anyplace, making them more proactive.
It is already 10 years since the advent of the smartphone. Our question is:
what will be the next thing to change the lives of ASEAN sei-katsu-sha ?
Naturally, we think that smartphone technology will continue to be core
technology in the coming decade. But there are already examples in Japan,
North America, China and elsewhere of the next technological innovations
changing sei-katsu-sha behavior. What kinds of media will come into being
from the technologies that follow the smartphone, and what lifestyle
behaviors will they bring?
| Technology or device |
Media | sei-katsu-sha behavior |
|---|---|---|
| TV | Mass media | Mass behavior |
| Computer | Interactive media |
Information transmission Searching |
| Smartphone | Personalized media | Anytime Anyplace |