55 per cent of Malaysia's Gen Z addicted to gadgets

A total of 55 per cent of Malaysia’s Gen Z love their gadgets and fear of being offline, a study by INTI International University and Colleges (INTI) revealed.

The study also found that more than 80% of them are looking at between one to three screens on a daily basis.

Gen Z are those who born between 1995 and 2009. They are also known as the “hyper-connected generation”.

INTI’s chief executive officer Rohit Sharma said the study, carried out with more than 500 Gen Z respondents throughout the country, also revealed that they spend an average of eight hours a day on the internet.

“Some 41 per cent of them feel incomplete when not connected,” he told Agenda Awani.

He said the 55 per cent of Malaysia’s Gen Z look at their gadgets as companions and are connected to the virtual world perpetually.

He said the study also found that about 49 per cent of the Gen Z prefer short and crisp messages while 34 per cent prefer to use short form in conversation.

The top five platforms used by Gen Z are Facebook (92%), WeChat (70%), YouTube (66%), WhatsApp (66%) and Google+ (33%).

Rohit said this is the first time such a survey has been carried out in the country.

“As a nation, we should be pleased that Gen Z are self-starters, wanting to be entrepreneurs to carve out their own unique career path. They are hungry to acquire skills such as creativity, teamwork, leadership and problem solving,”.

Rohit said while Gen Y were conventional in making career choices, Gen Z are bolder and more adventurous.

“42% of Gen Z want to do something completely new when making career choices, 37% hope to turn their hobbies into a profession and 31% want to be entrepreneurs,” he said.

After the Gen Z, the next generation will be called Gen Alpha, who are the pre-schooler and kindergarteners of today.