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Japanese high school girls on mobiles 7 hours a day: survey

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Not very amusing and very frustrating for school teachers. Also this trend will affect the character and actions in later life.

We are already beginning to see the effects of overuse when these kids get married and try to run a family. Their tendency to use physical or verbal abuse comes from their limited knowledge of social contacts.

Taiwan recently put into law that internet devices must be kept out of infants hands. Can't they invoke some kind of law to change this trend of overuse with Japanese kids? Every Tom and Dick knows the harm this can cause to the brains and future of these students and yet the government does nothing about it. Is it up to each individual family or school? When is the Japanese government going to act and put a stop to this nosense?

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Absence of physical contacts...japan's main characteristic. Leading to a demographic disaster.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

Most importantly, why are parents willing to pay the 8.000 Yen iphone bill of the girls?.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

There is no problem here. I would argue they are more connected with a larger group of people, than if they didn't have these phones, and just sat in their houses speaking to their parents and siblings. With connection to the internet, they learn a hell of a lot more about the world, and have access to all the information out there instantly. This is just a paradigm shift that the old boys can't handle as they have no control over it. It is part of our evolution, and nothing to be criticised.

-2 ( +8 / -10 )

Most importantly, why are parents willing to pay the 8.000 Yen iphone bill of the girls?.

To make them shut up. Easier parenting.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

It is fully obvious to anyone who takes the trouble to look that excessive cell phone use causes premature atrophy of neurological function. In other words, it rots your brains.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

There's another statistic missing from this article. Over 60% of the emails Japanese teenagers send are sent to people they have never met.

I'd probably spend three hours or so a day on my phone and iPad reading newspapers and emailing and, the dreaded FaceBook. However, a lot of my business is done by email making it essential for me to check emails regularly.

This phoenomenon has already changed society for the worse. Many of the public schools have no control over the use of phones at school and the kids spend all day glued to the phones. They don't learn a thing at school! However, on the other hand, some of the schools are very strict about cell phone use and these schools tend to have a higher average score than those that don't discourage cell phone use. And, let's not just point the finger at Japan. This is a worldwide trend that is getting worse every year.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

I still like pencil, paper, envelopes and stamps.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

There's another statistic missing from this article. Over 60% of the emails Japanese teenagers send are sent to people they have never met.

Kids still use email? I thought it was just us old people.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

I expect even sharper population decline as a result

3 ( +4 / -1 )

It's open season. My daughters school OPENLY allows the students to use their mobiles. As soon as class is over they hop back to their phones. LINE and their LINE games are monopolizing their time. Schools are defeated by this level of dependency to their phones.

They've decided there is no solution. The parents have also been defeated. So with that said your children are now controlled by Naver INC.

The road is paved with good intentions but in the back rooms of Japanese companies it's always about money. LINE was originally created to support communication after a major disaster like 3.11. Look at it now.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Of course the schools have a solution. Students should hand their phones to the teacher when they arrive at school and collect them when they leave, easy. If anyone needs to get hold of a student in an emergency then just call the school.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Information is currency to teenage girls. Teens (boys and girls, "Millennials") are connected in a way never before known. They function as a hive, networking and collaborating as no other generation has. Not all is good: they can't "sit still," sustained concentration is difficult, personal intercommunication skills are under-developed, and the quality of their collaborative work can be poor. When they get it right, they're brilliant; when they don't, they aren't--Our brave new world.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

They need their phones to keep track of their customer appointments.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

My daughter has an iPod Touch - which only connects to the Net by WiFi - as she does not have enough money to afford a smartphone contract and I certainly will not pay for it. This seems to be a good compromise: On one hand, she has the freedom while at home to fit in with her crowd; on the other, she generally leaves it at home when she goes out. For those JTers with teenage daughters, I would suggest this type of arrangement.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

There is no problem here.

If you don't see a problem, then I guess you have never had the opportunity to (literally and figuratively) run into one of these girls. While you claim they have a larger network, their communication skills are unbelievably poor and I think I am being nice when I say poor.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

In other news, people breathe air. Was anyone really surprised by this?

2 ( +3 / -1 )

"There is no problem here"

I reckon heroin addicts have the same problem with recognition.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Only 7 hours? I would have guessed something like "every waking minute".

2 ( +2 / -0 )

I would argue they are more connected with a larger group of people, than if they didn't have these phones, and just sat in their houses speaking to their parents and siblings. With connection to the internet, they learn a hell of a lot more about the world, and have access to all the information out there instantly. This is just a paradigm shift that the old boys can't handle as they have no control over it. It is part of our evolution, and nothing to be criticised.

This deserves it's own comment; If you have ever had the opportunity to speak with HS kids here I do believe your image would be seriously damaged, possibly to the point of no return.

HS kids are not spending time online researching anything other than the latest gossip, music, playing puzzle-dora, and a host of other mundane things that would numb the minds of most people.

Nothing to do with control, and btw these HS girls would hardly be at home talking with their parents or siblings, I dont know what era you think this is here in Japan, but HS girls have rarely been home for decades, after school, club activities, and juku, they wont get home until 10PM or later, and leave early in the AM.

You must be thinking of an era long, long, long, gone by.

Oh and just how many HS girls in any other country actually spend time at home talking with their parents or siblings? Come on....get with it.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

'It's not just children in Japan. My wife and I laugh at how when we're out at a restaurant, we're usually the only ones who don't have a cell phone out on the table--and we're actually having a conversation over our meal.'

Yep, it's not just teenage girls. I wish I had the straightforwardness of my father who roared at my sister and her husband "I'm sorry if my company is so ####ing boring!" in the pub when they were arsing around on their smartphones. The next time it happens to me when I'm in company, I think I'll get my Kindle out.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

"Of course the schools have a solution. Students should hand their phones to the teacher when they arrive at school and collect them when they leave, easy. If anyone needs to get hold of a student in an emergency then just call the school."

The only problem with this idea is that it wouldn't take long for a hentai teacher to obtain girls' phone numbers from the phones in his possession and start stalking them.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

The only problem with this idea is that it wouldn't take long for a hentai teacher to obtain girls' phone numbers from the phones in his possession and start stalking them.

The overwhelming majority of teachers are not hentai, it's sad that anyone would make the assumption that there are hentai teachers in all the schools.

It's the few bad apples that ruin the bushel for all teachers if you think this is the truth.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Someone should introduce them to Facebook so then they'll be addicted to their computers rather than their phones

1 ( +1 / -0 )

The only problem with this idea is that it wouldn't take long for a hentai teacher to obtain girls' phone numbers from the phones in his possession and start stalking them.

The overwhelming majority of teachers are not hentai, it's sad that anyone would make the assumption that there are hentai teachers in all the schools.

If the phones are code-locked, then the phone # should be safe.

Hentai teens, on the other hand...........

(Why do ya think they need their phones?)

0 ( +1 / -1 )

The overwhelming majority of teachers are not hentai, it's sad that anyone would make the assumption that there are hentai teachers in all the schools.

No, but they do exist. And yes, it is sad that kids are addicted to their phones to the point they become "zombies"

0 ( +0 / -0 )

It's not only students, it's everyone. Quite a number of times I've been to restaurants and seen the entire family on their phones, not speaking to each other while they are waiting for their food. If the parents are doing it, then they can't expect their kids not to.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

You know what annoys me the most ! it I s women taking to many selfies of themselves to the point I " quit " facebook and other membership sites.

I can't go out with a woman who takes over 10 self portraits a day. Can't be her boyfriend anymore. It's annoying.

I am talking about all women above the age of 21, of course they act like they are 14 or something.

And I had women's photos with the puckered lips. I am regally tired of that crap.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

well if parents made the girls responsible for there phone bills, aka getting a part time job to fund the habit, then i would say the time spent on them would go down. parents who pay for there childrens phone bills are just as much to blame

2 ( +3 / -1 )

aka getting a part time job to fund the habit, then i would say the time spent on them would go down

And here we have the dilemma: schools discourage students from having part-time jobs - but not from using their mobile phones excessively. Japan has it's priorities wrong here

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Good comment Christopher. I've never understood why part-time jobs are discouraged. Maybe because they 'get in the way of studying?' But surely mobile phones are a bigger distraction and can't teach them valuable life skills that they can use once they finish school. I had part-time jobs from junior high right through to uni and they didn't affect my schoolwork one bit. In addition I learned some useful skills and made enough cash to buy the stuff I wanted without having to rely on my parents for extra money.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

@Christopher Glen

No, but they do exist. And yes, it is sad that kids are addicted to their phones to the point they become "zombies"

So you are going to sit here and try to justify your comments by making all teachers look bad. Odds are you only know about these bad apples because of what you read on JT and if you use that to base your opinions about Japan you really are off the mark.

And here we have the dilemma: schools discourage students from having part-time jobs - but not from using their mobile phones excessively. Japan has it's priorities wrong here

This is wrong too, over-generalizing and stereotyping as well. Sure SOME schools, particularly one's that are considered to be college or university prep type HS's discourage their students from having PT jobs , however the "lower" ranked schools have no such priorities and for brevities sake I will leave it at that, you are rather ignorant about the reality here.

School's should not be in the business of instructing kids about cell phone usage. You have your priorities wrong, it's the parents job. Teachers jobs are hard enough without adding this crap on to them as well. Limiting usage during classes, that's a different story, and many do that already.

Also look at the "'7" hours a little more closely. Let's say an 90 minute commute in the AM and PM, right there is 3 hours, 3 hours at night, an hour during the day between classes, and there you have 7 hours.

How long do you sit behind your computer and watch porn, read news, whatever? Bet it adds up too. These kids dont typically use computers so....

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

So you are going to sit here and try to justify your comments by making all teachers look bad.

No, because I've worked with many good ones. The fact remains though that a minority of hentai teachers are out there. Not just Japan, but other countries as well. I believe other posters have suggested confiscating kids' phones upon arrival, and returning them at the end of the day. The safest custodian would be the obachan that works at school admin. Voila, problem solved

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

"High school girls in Japan spend an average of seven hours a day on their mobile phones, a new survey has found, with nearly 10% of them putting in at least 15 hours"

Good grief!

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

I'm a Japanese high schooler and I was in other country's high school last month but it wasn't different as my Japanese high school. Almost everybody use their smartphones between there classes or during the classes like instergram and games. But it is actually a big problem and some schools are trying to fix it in Japan

There is a school which bringing phones are not allowed and as somebody said, one of my friends school will take the students smartphones in the morning when they come to the class room and give it back after the school finish.

But this kind of regulation usually occurs only in middle levels high schools because high level high schooler can manage their spending times of smartphones by them selves and they don't spends seven hours a day.

It's not only the Japan's problem but it's a worldwide problem. The smartphone changed the way of our life and we should have an awareness of crisis. all of us needs to think about this and think this problem as your country's problem. I think regulation won't be the best solution. all high schooler (or children ) should think what they are doing and what's gonna happen if they just keep do those things.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

No, because I've worked with many good ones. The fact remains though that a minority of hentai teachers are out there. Not just Japan, but other countries as well. I believe other posters have suggested confiscating kids' phones upon arrival, and returning them at the end of the day. The safest custodian would be the obachan that works at school admin. Voila, problem solved

Problem is not solved. You forget students rights, and not all schools have the obachan. There is no surefire way, currently, to stop them using them during school time other than having schools install devices that block out all incoming signals, they exist, yet then the teachers would be out of luck too.

I dont get why you have to keep pushing on the hentai teachers and insinuate that they would be after the "girls" phones. Why not let it die? Are you so hard up to check out their phones yourself? Starting to sound that way to me.

It's not a black and white problem as you seem to think.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Only seven hours? Television used to be called "the opiate of the masses", but now I think it's the "smafo".

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Good post Yosuke san. All schools should just ban the damn things and make the students leave their mobiles at the door for now. In the meantime, I think school regulators have to compete with smartphones by coming up with ways to motivate students to do other things during their breaks.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Here is an idea...

Smartphones are here to stay. Everyone is online (we are online talking about this), and everyone WANTS to be online, so why dont the teacher start actually using the phones to access the internet in class and incorporate this into the lesson plans?

Imagine an economics lesson where the students have to find out real, up to the second accurate information on the stock price of a certain company, and then report it back to the class, using the economic theories the teacher introduces in the less. I would have LOVED that in school. That would have been AMAZING.

Or in an English class, having the kids access breaking news and try to understand and summarize it from their phones.

Etc.

There is no fighting this, so why dont they try to use them. They are incredible tools.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

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