Internet users more protective of personal information: Yahoo

David Jeffs, head of insights, Southeast Asia at Yahoo Southeast Asia, said they set up “walls” within existing networks to limit the sharing of personal information and being specific about who to connect with, based on the latest Yahoo! Net Index study.

“These ‘walls’ control the information exchanges and ensure conversations remain rich and engaging (one-to-few),” he said.

In Malaysia, for example, some 42 per cent of the respondents said they limit their personal information on the social networking sites and 35 per cent of them prevent access from the people they don’t know personally.

Meanwhile, some 57 per cent of the respondents in the Philippines said they felt the need to limit their personal information online and 47 per cent prevent other people to access their blogs or social networking sites.

Indonesians showed similar trends as well, with half of them limiting personal information online and 40 per cent limiting access to what they share on social networking sites.

Yahoo Net Index study is an internet media study of urban internet users in Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines and Malaysia.

The browser provider continues to remain excited on the prospect of the internet usage in the Southeast Asia region, due to its large population and relatively lower penetration.

Jeffs said the shift from shared to private access is on the rise across all countries in the region with the popularity of internet cafes waning.

Internet adoption is rising, fueled by youths aged between 10 to 24 years old in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities in Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia, using the mobile internet.

On that note, Jeffs expects the mobile internet usage in Indonesia and Vietnam next year to surpass the online usage through internet cafes.

It was due to the declining online access through internet cafes from 64 per cent to 60 per cent, while access on mobile internet has increased from 48 per cent to 58 per cent in Indonesia over the past two years.

“Mobile, which is now on the verge of being the dominant access point for internet access also acts as a catalyst, fulfilling the need for on-the-go connectivity and instantaneous updates for social networking,” he added.

In Vietnam, meanwhile, mobile internet has grown to 30 per cent this year from 19 per cent last year. The greatest growth is in the secondary cities of Can Tho and Da Nang, whereby users are going into mobile web, from traditional fixed-line internet access.

Mobile usage in Malaysia has almost doubled since last year, even though the primary point of access is still home PC.

On other hand, internet usage in the Philippines has remained relatively stable and has seen the most growth from higher income groups and young adults.

Its mobile internet has not seen sufficient traction largely due to the lack of attractive data plans. Nevertheless, as it has a high penetration of internet-capable low-cost smart features phones, Jeffs noted that it is just a matter of time before telcos can reach the economies of scale to bring down the tariffs.

The study also revealed that almost all the internet users in Vietnam used search to read international news, while Indonesians, Filipinos and Malaysians used search for leisure, music and entertainment news.