Children in Japan receive their first phones at a young age, and 51.6 percent of their parents give smartphones to their children at the elementary school age, as per an investigation conducted recently.
The percentage was an increase of 11.5 percentage points over the poll that was conducted the year prior. The report said Mobile Marketing Data Labo, an IT market research company located in Tokyo.
The percentage of children who receive their first smartphones before elementary school, for instance, increased to 5.8 percent, up from 2.8 percent.
A representative from MMD Labo attributed the changes to “more households that are using the devices as a way to contact children when they attend cram schools or other places.”
The official also pointed out instances of children exposed to danger or in trouble due to using social media on smartphones.
“Families should talk about risks and develop guidelines,” the official said.
MMD Labo conducted the online survey beginning in January. 21 through 24. It covered 1,888 men and women ranging from 20 to 60 who had their children get smartphones starting in 2021.
The age of junior high school was the second most popular age at which children receive their first smartphones, and this was the answer picked in the hands of 28.5 percent of their parents.
The next choice was the age of the high school, which was chosen by 12.4 percent, and the age of university, which is by 1.7 percent.
A question that allowed for multiple answers and the reason parents decide to gift their children smartphones. Some respondents reported that their children had said they would like to get them.
Other parents said that their children were also affected and started going to the cram class and other classes. They also said that they were keen to use the free messaging application Line as family.
Source: JapanToday
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