InfoQuest (March 30, 2020) -- The Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA) of the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES) of Thailand issued the results of the Thailand Internet User Behavior 2019 survey conducted from August 2019 to October 2019. Based on an analysis of 17,242 questionnaire respondents in Thailand, it was found that Thais used the Internet for an average of 10 hours and 22 minutes per day, an increase of 17 minutes over 2018. Here is a comparison of the Internet use time by indicator.
In terms of gender, the analysis found that the LGBTQ spent most time using the Internet with a length of 11 hours and 20 minutes, followed by men with a length of 10 hours and 25 minutes and women with a length of 10 hours and 17 minutes.
In terms of generation, the analysis found that Gen Y (aged 19-38) has topped the Internet use time ranking for 5 consecutive years with a length of 10 hours and 36 minutes, followed by Gen Z (under 19) with a length of 10 hours and 35 minutes, Baby Boomer (aged 55-73) with a length of 10 hours and Gen X (aged 39-54) with a length of 9 hours and 49 minutes.
In terms of occupation, the analysis found that there was little difference in the Internet use time between lines of work. School students/university students ranked first with a length of 10 hours and 50 minutes, closely followed by househusbands / housewives with a length of 10 hours and 38 minutes, owners of companies/self-employed businesses with a length of 10 hours and 34 minutes, the unemployed with a length of 10 hours and 32 minutes and the freelancers with a length of 10 hours and 30 minutes.
In terms of area, the analysis showed a similar case. The north occupied the top spot with a length of 10 hours and 31 minutes, followed by the northeast with a length of 10 hours and 28 minutes, the central area with a length of 10 hours and 19 minutes, the Bangkok area with a length of 10 hours and 19 minutes, and the south with a length of 10 hours and 17 minutes. Maybe the wide coverage of the National Internet Project and the Free WI-FI services is one of the reasons. So far, the National Internet Project has covered more than 24,700 villages and the Free WI-FI services more than 10,000 communities, enabling people in all regions to access the Internet.
Of all respondents, more than 91.2 percent used the Internet to access Social Media (Facebook, Line, Instagram), making it the most popular online activity for 7 years in a row. Following it were watching movies and listening to music (71.2 percent), searching information (70.7 percent), sending and receiving e-mails (62.5 percent) and online product and service payment (60.6 percent). This was also the first time that payment has become one of the five most popular online activities, reflecting Thai people's growing confidence in online payment security.
Compared with 2018, online ordering grew fastest with a growth rate of 15.1 percent, and was coming into fashion. Next to it were online product and service payment which rose by 11.4 percent, and online goods/ package/document sending and receiving which upped by 11.0 percent.
This survey also analyzed the most popular online channels for buyers and sellers. It found that e-Marketplace was most popular among buyers. Specifically, 75.6 percent chose Shopee, followed by Lazada (65.5 percent) and social media such as Facebook Fanpage (47.5 percent) and Line (38.9 percent). For sellers, the most popular online channels were Facebook Fanpage (64.0 percent), Shopee (43.1 percent), and Line (39.5 percent). In addition, the analysis also found that 98.5 percent of Thais used Line to communicate, followed by Facebook Messenger, FaceTime, and WhatsApp.
According to the survey, online advertisement was the most frequent problem facing Internet users, accounting for 78.5 percent, followed by network connection delay (68.7 percent) and unreliable data (35.8 percent). But 73.3 percent of respondents expressed their confidence in cyber security. Such a large proportion should be owed to the effective measures introduced by the government to reduce Internet threats. For example, MDES has established the Anti-Fake News Center to crack down on false news; ETDA has set up 1212 OCC (Online Complaint Center) to offer consultation services and receive complaints from online users through 24-hour hotline 1212 or the mailbox 1212@mdes.go.thorwww.1212occ.com.
One of the hot issues received from the public was about Digital ID. ETDA found that most people have known and operated identity verification activities including filling in OTP code (91.6 percent), using personal information to apply for online services for private enterprises (85.9 percent) and setting passwords to use online services for private enterprises (82.1 percent). Among the most popular activities that need to activate services by creating new accounts were online renewal annual vehicle taxation, followed by online asset trading and online learning.
Among the most popular activities that use services through existing accounts (Social Media, Internet Banking and other accounts) were online bus service, followed by online food ordering and online book reading. When asked about whether to use the same account to access all online services, 64.4 percent of respondents gave a positive answer, 23.8 percent were not sure, and 11.9 percent gave a negative answer. When asked about problems in which they want most to see government supervision, 61.4 percent said network security and information leakage prevention, followed by introducing laws to regulate all units concerned (18.5 percent), government agency certification mechanism (11.2 percent) and continuity of service systems (7.2 percent), and others.
When it comes to formulating regulations and laws related to electronic transactions, ETDA has introduced the Electronic Transaction Act B.E. 2562 (3rd and 4th editions) in 2019 to stay consistent with laws on Digital ID, and promoted the development of digital identity verification standards to ensure reliability legally. Moreover, this authority is also working on drafting a supervision law on digital identity verification system service providers, and announcement on Digital ID Sandbox. By doing so, it aims to formulate laws to regulate the Digital ID service business and make further progress in forming an electronic transaction ecosystem with a reliable identity verification system.
Source: InfoQuest, by Saowalak Ouypron/ Rachada, translated by Xinhua Silk Road
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