Japan has the lowest penetration rate of mobile phones and internet use among children

According to a survey by the American non-profit organization Common Sense Media , children aged 0 to 8 spend about three times as much time online as they do reading books.

The survey also showed that mobile phones and tablets are becoming more common among younger generations, and it appears that a new generation of digital natives , people who have been with smartphones since birth, is already emerging in the United States.

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◆ The spread of mobile phones among younger generations in the United States
According to a survey by Common Sense Media, approximately 53% of children aged 0 to 8 have used a smartphone or tablet. Additionally, among parents whose children have smartphones or other devices, approximately 20% have purchased and downloaded apps for their children.

In Japan, the age range from 0 to 8 years old corresponds to the early elementary school years, but it is surprising that 53% of children have used a smartphone or similar device.

◆Smartphone penetration among younger generations in Japan is stagnating
The graph below shows the results of the 'Survey on the Internet Usage Environment of Young People' conducted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications and released in February 2011, showing the ownership rates of mobile phones, PCs, and game consoles. The mobile phone ownership rate among elementary school students is about 20%, which is slightly different from the results of the goo research mentioned above. The survey period was from September 1st to September 20th, 2010.

The survey also asked those who answered that they had a mobile phone what type it was, and no elementary school students answered 'smartphone.' While smartphones have become the mainstream of mobile phones in recent years, the spread of smartphones among younger generations seems to be stagnating.

◆ Internet use by Japanese children ranks low among developed countries
The graph below shows the internet usage of children aged 6 to 9. While countries such as Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom show extremely high usage of 'social networking sites for children,' Japan's usage of email is barely on par with other countries, and the other usage figures are at the bottom across the board.

◆When students reach high school, they start using the internet more
Although internet usage remains low among younger age groups, a survey of high school students found that the internet was the medium they spent the most time on. By the time they reach high school, the majority spend between 0 and 15 minutes a day using media other than the internet and television, making it difficult to reach this age group with information other than these two media.

In Japan, the negative effects of internet use among young people, such as 'underground school websites' and 'dating sites,' have been widely reported. However, when compared with the situation in other countries, the current situation, where internet use is extremely low among younger age groups and suddenly becomes popular among junior and senior high school students, could be said to be rather distorted. Rather than first being exposed to the internet when junior and senior high school students reach adolescence, it is necessary for future generations to become familiar with the internet world from elementary school onwards and understand its characteristics.