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Across Southeast Asia, pandemic forces millions online for first time
- A report found there were 40 million new internet users across Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam in 2020
- This year's net novices made up almost one-third of the region’s 140 million new users since 2015 and amounted to four times as many as in 2019
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dpain Bangkok
Coronavirus-related curbs have led to a spike in first-time internet users across six Southeast Asian countries, according to a Google report published on Tuesday.
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Forty million people went online for the first time in 2020, according to the report, which covered Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
This year's net novices made up almost one-third of the region's 140 million new users since 2015 and amounted to four times as many as in 2019.
The report – co-authored by Singapore government investment fund Temasek and Bain & Company, a US-based consultancy – said that the coronavirus pandemic resulted in “big shifts” in internet use “across the region”.
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“Eight out of 10 people across the region said technology helped them get through the virus,” the report claimed.
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