Internet Addicts Top 10 Pct of Middle, High School Students

September 2, 2018

Tokyo- More than 10 pct of junior and senior high school students in Japan are addicted to the Internet, a survey by a health ministry research group for fiscal 2017 has shown.

The proportion doubled for junior high school students, compared with the previous survey for fiscal 2012. The group estimates that the number of Internet addicts among junior and senior high school students surged from 510,000 to 930,000.

Susumu Higuchi, head of the National Hospital Organization Kurihama Medical and Addiction Center and a member of the ministry research group, said, "The problem has become more serious against the backdrop of the spread of equipment, as well as the wider use of social media and online games."

The functions of consultation centers and medical institutions that can deal with the issue should be enhanced, Higuchi said.

The survey, conducted from December 2017 to February 2018, covered 103 randomly selected schools nationwide--48 junior high schools and 55 senior high schools. Valid answers came from 64,329 students.

In the survey, students who answered yes to five or more of eight questions about the excessive use of the Internet were regarded as "pathological users," suspected of being so addicted to the Internet that their daily lives are affected.

Such users accounted for 12.4 pct of junior high school students, up from 6.0 pct in fiscal 2012, with the share standing at 10.6 pct for boys, up from 4.4 pct, and 14.3 pct for girls, up from 7.7 pct.

The figure for senior high school students rose from 9.4 pct to 16.0 pct. The share stood at 13.2 pct for boys, up from 7.6 pct, and 18.9 pct for girls, up from 11.2 pct.

"Maladjusted users," or those who answered affirmatively to three or four of the eight survey questions, increased sharply, from 13.7 pct to 22.2 pct among junior high school students and from 19.0 pct to 27.6 pct among senior high school students. The research group estimates the total number of such users at 1.61 million.

Many students said that they feel they are absorbed in the Internet or that they tend to use the Internet for a longer time than initially planned.

Smartpone is the most commonly used equipment for Internet access, standing at over 70 pct for junior high school students and over 90 pct of senior high school students.

Online videos and information search are frequently used services, with online games particularly popular among boys and social media among girls. Jiji Press