Handphones, while being a necessity these days, have to a large extent literally taken over our lives.

We not only depend on it for communication, but also for a host of entertainment purposes from music, to movies and of course, gaming.

The use of handphones for gaming has become increasingly addictive among the younger generation and it is no surprise that a recent study ranked Malaysia as the third highest smartphone user in the world.

The study conducted by McGill University in Canada ranked China in top spot, followed by Saudi Arabia.

The study was conducted on adolescents and young adults aged between 15 – 35 years old from 24 countries. A total 33,831 participants, 60 per cent of whom were women, were involved in the study.

“Problematic smartphone use is increasing across the world. China, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia had the highest scores, while Germany and France had the lowest,” read the report.

The research found that the diversity of social norms and cultural expectations were among reasons for the differences in how consumers from different countries used their handphones.

According to reports, for 2021, the number of smartphone users in Malaysia was estimated to reach about 29 million.

With the growing population, the number of smartphone users here is expected to increase by another 1.74 million until 2025.

Statista.com revealed that almost everybody in Malaysia owned a smartphone, but the younger generation tend to own smartphones more than the older generation.

In a survey on smartphone ownership, it was revealed that only 30 percent of the respondents who were aged 65 years old and above had a smartphone.

On average, Malaysians spend around 7.5 hours on the internet and 2.45 hours on social media daily.

According to a survey conducted in February 2019, 90 percent of respondents stated that they use their smartphone for text messaging and voice notes at least once a day.