*Today is 2015. The world has gone far away from ancient tradition.* *Cambodia is not different. When Cambodia started developing, Cambodia received the best of all the world had to offer. They missed all of those that the rest of the world were enjoying while Cambodians were killing each other and brought their own country to ground zero. They didn't play the catch up because they could not do it. With the help of others, they started fresh with the best. *
*At the same time, Cambodian tradition had been revived a little at the time. Today, they seem to grasp the reality that their tradition and today technology are clashing. What should they do?* *Cambodia is not the only country facing this phenomenon. America economy has been transform many times in the last four decades. Technology firms has been in full throttle trying to develop new innovation in the race for the best technology in the world. The application has been the forefront for it to make many aspects of our lives to be in advance of others. New technology is not just making military and private sector better. They also create headaches for themselves. * *That's what Cambodians are facign today. Fortunately, Cambodians have very little to loose. Instead, they have been adopting themselves to this new generation well. * On Friday, December 18, 2015 at 10:28:02 AM UTC-8, Khmer Forum wrote: > > *The Rise of Smart Phones in Cambodia Challenges Social Norms | In Asia* > > *http://asiafoundation.org/in-asia/2015/12/16/the-rise-of-smart-phones-in-cambodia-challenges-social-norms/ > > <http://asiafoundation.org/in-asia/2015/12/16/the-rise-of-smart-phones-in-cambodia-challenges-social-norms/>* > > > <http://asiafoundation.org/in-asia/2015/12/16/the-rise-of-smart-phones-in-cambodia-challenges-social-norms/#> > > <http://asiafoundation.org/in-asia/2015/12/16/the-rise-of-smart-phones-in-cambodia-challenges-social-norms/#> > > <http://asiafoundation.org/in-asia/2015/12/16/the-rise-of-smart-phones-in-cambodia-challenges-social-norms/#> > > <http://asiafoundation.org/in-asia/2015/12/16/the-rise-of-smart-phones-in-cambodia-challenges-social-norms/#> > > <http://asiafoundation.org/in-asia/2015/12/16/the-rise-of-smart-phones-in-cambodia-challenges-social-norms/#> > > <http://asiafoundation.org/in-asia/2015/12/16/the-rise-of-smart-phones-in-cambodia-challenges-social-norms/#> > Share <http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=250&username=asiafoundation> > > December 16, 2015 > > By Silas Everett <http://asiafoundation.org/in-asia/authors/silas-everett> > > According to a new study <http://asiafoundation.org/publications/pdf/1570>, > nearly 100 percent of Cambodians now own a mobile phone, and in what is > perhaps an even more significant trend, smart phone ownership grew by 41 > percent in the past year. > [image: Cambodia Smart Phone] > > While Cambodia has reduced poverty levels by half in just a decade, 60 > percent of the population still lacks connection to the public electricity > grid. As such, the smart phone is an encouraging symbol of modernization > and is rapidly become a necessary tool of modern life. Photo/Flickr user > Philip Brookes > > The study, conducted by the Open Institute, and supported by The Asia > Foundation and USAID/Development Innovations, found that overall smart > phone penetration is now at 39.5 percent. The rapid growth in smart phones > is closely linked to the blistering pace of Cambodia’s economic growth > <http://www.phnompenhpost.com/analysis-and-op-ed/sustaining-growth-cambodia>, > averaging 7 percent in the past five years and poised to soon graduate to > lower > middle-income status > <http://data.worldbank.org/about/country-and-lending-groups#Lower_middle_income> > . > > While Cambodia has reduced poverty levels by half in just a decade, 60 > percent of the population still lacks connection to the public electricity > grid. As such, the smart phone is an encouraging symbol of modernization > and is rapidly become a necessary tool of modern life. Increasingly, > Cambodians are thriving on their new-found connectivity > <http://asiafoundation.org/in-asia/2015/01/21/new-economic-and-social-landscape-in-cambodia-attracts-more-users-to-the-internet/>, > > especially young people, eager to experience the world beyond the confines > of the village (an estimated 80 percent of Cambodians live in rural areas). > > This year’s survey shows telling differences in smart phone ownership > across the country, and offers important insights into the changing shape > of Cambodia’s demographics and distribution of social and economic > empowerment. Only 15.2 percent of those who have had no formal education > own a smart phone, compared to 82 percent of those who have a university > degree. The survey found that some 51.7 percent of urban residents had at > least one smartphone, compared to 34 percent of rural residents. > Additionally, 46.8 percent of men said they owned a smart phone, while only > 32.3 percent of women said they owned a smart phone. This means that for > every 100 women using a smart phone, there are an estimated 145 men using > one. > > These differences are becoming increasingly important as the smart phone > is fast becoming the primary conduit for accessing news and information. > Over 34 percent of Cambodians surveyed said that they use or had used > Facebook (a 48.2%increase from 2014 > <http://asiafoundation.org/publications/pdf/1435> and 91% increase from > 2013). While 70.6 percent of respondents say their smart phones are used > for accessing Facebook, of these Facebook account holders, 80.5 percent > said that they use it *only* on their phone. > > The main reason respondents cited for joining Facebook was “to stay in > touch with friends.” After respondents said they used Facebook for some > time, they were more likely to use Facebook to “get information about > events or hot news in Cambodia.” In fact, respondents said that Facebook > and the internet were the second most important sources of information > following TV, which was first, and radio, which is now the third most > important source of information. Only two years ago, respondents were twice > as likely to listen to radio than use Facebook or the internet. > > Perhaps not surprisingly, internet usage was found to increase > dramatically among younger and more urban respondents. Young people between > 15 and 25 years old were five times more likely to use the internet than > those between 40 and 65. Almost twice as many urban users than rural users > claimed to use internet and Facebook. These results suggest that online > activity in Cambodia may be representative of a much younger, more urban > demographic than previously thought. > > More surprisingly are differences in online access according to education > and gender. Those who studied or have completed university were 15 times > more likely to access the internet with their phone than those who never > attended formal school. Furthermore, almost twice as many men surveyed use > the internet and Facebook than women. While the gender gap in education in > Cambodia is rapidly closing, the survey results suggest female > participation is lagging when it comes to accessing information online. > > Not only does owning a smart phone provide “membership” to Cambodia’s > growing middle class, it provides new ways to access news and information – > and as such, is playing a role in changing expectations for jobs, > education, and lifestyle, particularly among the country’s youth. > > How these rapid changes in smart-phone uptake influence users’ social, > political, and economic preferences, and their attitudes and behaviors have > yet to be explored. Equally important to understand is how smart-phone > users as a proxy for a “modernizing” demographic group is influencing the > “traditional” demographic groups. While these dynamics certainly require > looking offline for further study, for now what is clear is that the rise > of smart phones in Cambodia reveals both challenges in how to close the > gender and age gap in access to online information, and opportunities for > leveraging the internet for civic engagement, education, and access to > worlds of new information that become available online every day. > > *Silas Everett is The Asia Foundation’s country representative in > Cambodia, and can be reached at silas....@asiafoundation.org <javascript:>. > The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and not those > of The Asia Foundation or its funders.* > > View all posts by Silas Everett > <http://asiafoundation.org/in-asia/authors/silas-everett/> | Bio > <http://asiafoundation.org/about/profile/silas-everett> > > Topics: Economic Development > <http://asiafoundation.org/in-asia/tag/economic-development/> | Social > Media <http://asiafoundation.org/in-asia/tag/social-media/> | Technology > & Development > <http://asiafoundation.org/in-asia/tag/technology-development/> | Women's > Participation > <http://asiafoundation.org/in-asia/tag/womens-participation/> > > Countries: Cambodia <http://asiafoundation.org/in-asia/country/cambodia/> > > -- > > Best Regards, > > *Khmer Forum* > *A place for sharing community events and public news.* > -- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Cambodia Discussion (CAMDISC) - www.cambodia.org" group. This is an unmoderated forum. Please refrain from using foul language. Thank you for your understanding. Peace among us and in Cambodia. To post to this group, send email to camdisc@googlegroups.com To unsubscribe from this group, send email to camdisc-unsubscr...@googlegroups.com For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/camdisc Learn more - http://www.cambodia.org --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Cambodia Discussion (CAMDISC) - www.cambodia.org" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to camdisc+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
