SG users think social media firms have too much power, apathetic about data sharing

Majority of Singaporeans (83%) agree that social media companies have too much power, and 78% are concerned about how the information being collected about them when they go online is being used by their own government, according to the Ipsos Global Trends Study 2021.

Singapore tops the list of 25 countries at 91% (compared to 84% global average) with those that agree with the statement that it is inevitable they will all lose some privacy in the future because of the power of new technology. However, attitudes towards data have not become more anxious over this time.

Instead, the survey has recorded rising apathy and even openness to sharing personal data. In fact, 83% of Singaporeans cannot imagine life without the Internet, the third-highest of all countries surveyed. The study included respondents from Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines. The online survey was conducted over the period of August to September 2021 among 1,000 Singaporeans aged 16 to 75.

This concern comes at a time when data breaches have become commonplace and when big tech companies such as Facebook have come under media scrutiny for their platforms' effects on users. The shift towards ensuring consumer privacy is evident in the ad industry, with Apple's privacy changes to iOS14 and the impending wipe-out of third party cookies on Google Chrome.

Meanwhile, the importance of brand purpose have continued to be a theme among consumers this year. In fact, 87% of Singaporeans believe that it is possible for a brand to support a good cause and make money at the same time. In addition, 64% of people are generally willing to spend extra for a brand with an image that appeals to them.

Singaporeans are the least concerned of any of the 25 countries surveyed about buying products from their own country, at 53%. Since 2013, the importance of brands being associated with values has grown cross a number of key markets, with 17 percentage point increases in agreement in Britain and France, and a rise of 16 points in the US. In Singapore, 72% of people agree with this statement.

Similarly, there is high interest in business leaders getting involved social issues, with more than eight in 10 of the public in Singapore agreeing that business leaders having a responsibility to speak out on social and political issues facing their country.

However, there remain strong tensions in the public interest in businesses showing wider social purpose, with 45% of the sample across all countries and 49% in Singapore agreeing that “I don’t care if a brand is ethically or socially responsible, I just want them to make good products.” Singaporeans also have high levels of trust In online recommendations from a well-known site or app, at 80%.

Meanwhile, concern over climate change is not merely isolated within the Western hemisphere. In Singapore, 91% agree that the world is heading for environmental disaster unless consumers change their habits quickly, Ipsos's study found. Neighbouring countries in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia (96%) and Thailand (93%) ranked in the top two of the 25 countries surveyed, with the Philippines (89%) expressing a similar sentiment.

Across the 25 markets, almost two thirds (63%) say it is more important to them that companies do as much as they can to reduce harm to the environment than it is that companies pay the right amount of tax, while just a quarter say tax is more important than climate (27%). In Singapore, almost three quarters (74%) say harm to the environment is more important. Emerging markets are most likely to see dealing with climate as the imperative: more than eight in 10 Colombians (82%), as well as a similar proportion of Chinese and Brazilian citizens (78%), say companies prioritising the environment is more important to them.

Katharine Zhou, MD for Iposos in Singapore, said the study shows Southeast Asians’ concerns are more pronounced than other parts of the world about the rising threat of climate change, the need to look after themselves physically, and for brands to align with good causes. 

“Global values, including those in Southeast Asia, have continued to remain the same, and climate concerns were not interrupted by COVID-19. Despite this, the world is changing fast where climate concern is turning into climate action, online and offline are becoming a blended reality and a view that political leaders should become social leaders," she added.

Photo courtesy: 123RF

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