The TELENOR Group on June 6 released the findings of its regional online survey that assessed the attitudes of Asia’s millennials towards technology and social impact, as well as the support they feel necessary to become future leaders committed to peace. Organised to support Telenor Youth Forum 2017 recruitment, the online survey engaged 2,500 respondents aged 15 to 30 years in Asian markets where Telenor is present. They include Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Malaysia, Pakistan, and Thailand.
The multi-market online survey found that Asia’s millennials are most passionate for providing opportunities for children to get an education (37% of survey takers), followed by climate change and global warming (21%). Other global issues that Asia’s millennials are driven to make change include the stigma surrounding mental health issues (17%), unemployment among youth (17%), and gender inequality (8%).
Asia’s millennials feel strongly about the role of technology and its impact when relating to the pursuit of their social causes. Close to half of Asia’s millennials (48%) polled believe that enabling equal opportunities and access to education will benefit most from technology advancements.
When asked about the technology that has the largest potential to give rise to peace, 32% of the respondents placed their bets on artificial intelligence, followed by the Internet of Things (30%), and virtual reality (28%). Across all six markets, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and virtual reality rank consistently in the top three – suggesting the vast potential seen in these future technologies by the Internet generation.
Another consistent trend across all markets is the youth’s perspectives of their generation. Regionally, 37% of the millennials polled described themselves as ‘the most innovative and entrepreneurial generation in history’, reflecting a similar proportion in Bangladesh (37%), Malaysia (38%) and Pakistan (38%).