Japan’s schoolkids obsessed with cellphones
Same here, right?
About one-third of Japanese primary school students aged 7-12 years old use cellphones, by the time they get to high school that figure has shot up to 96 percent, according to a government survey released last month.
They are using their phones to read books, listen to music, chat with friends and surf the Internet — an average of 124 minutes a day for high school girls and 92 minutes for boys.
While the wired world they now inhabit holds enormous advantages for learning and communicating, it also brings a downside, say experts who point to a rise in cyberbullying and a growing inability among teenagers to deal with other people face to face.
“Kids say what’s most important to them, next to their own lives, is their cellphone,” said Masashi Yasukawa, head of the private National Web Counselling Council.
“They are moving their thumbs while eating or watching television,” he said.
I’m so glad we don’t have that problem here.
Posted: Mon - January 14, 2008 at 12:51 PM