TOKYO- More than half of young people in Japan have unpleasant experiences when using social media, with many citing their messages being read but not answered, according to a survey by the Consumer Affairs Agency.

Other disturbing experiences include receiving fictitious invoices and cyberstalking. Ahead of the school summer vacation period, the agency is calling on young people to be cautious about the use of social networking services, warning that they may be involved in trouble.

The survey covered 3,000 users of Line free communications app aged between 15 and 25.

Of the total respondents, about 70 percent said they use social media for one hour or more per day. Three out of four expressed positive sentiment toward such online services.

In the survey, 51.8 percent said that they have had unpleasant experiences when using social media.

Among them, 31.2 percent, the biggest proportion, said they felt uncomfortable when their SNS messages were marked as read but received no replies. (Jiji Press)