Digital Media in East Asia: National Innovation and the Transform ...

of the cultures, social organizations, governments, and economic system of the region. As a result, and with the active intervention of governments both constructive and intrusive, digital opportunities and challenges are unique to East Asia.

Digital Media in East Asia puts forth three arguments. One, digital realities are enhancing regional integration in East Asia.¹⁵ Two, the influential triple helix of government, business, and universities is accelerating digital transformation in the region as fast as in any part of the world. And three, the demographic and cultural realities of East Asia (including mass urbanization, commuting lifestyles, young and tech-conscious consumers, high and growing incomes, small home living, receptiveness to new technologies, and the willingness of governments to signal and lead technological and economic change) create excellent conditions for digital development and consumer acceptance. Furthermore, the fundamental importance of language and culture in the digital world—which reinforces barriers between East Asia and much of the rest of the world (save for East Asian diasporas)—has the potential to strengthen the region’s digital advantage and to solidify the East Asia–first approach to economic development that unfolded in the early twenty-first century.

Digital media and the digital economy emerged very rapidly over the past quarter century. The transition from massive mainframe computers to portable Internet devices has been remarkably fast and intense. The Internet was a scientific novelty in the early 1990s, little used in East Asia in the early years. East Asia jumped on the digital bandwagon a bit late, discovered the potential of the new technologies, and quickly assumed a global leadership position in the sector.¹⁶ The language of the new digital economy—ubiquity, cloud computing, social networking, outsourcing, crowdsourcing, and the like—portends even greater changes to come. It is uncertain whether East Asia will dominate the continually changing digital world, as it appears poised to do, or if other areas will catch up. These are times when rapid change is assumed, not just anticipated, and when the very economic, social, political, and cultural foundations