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We need to make more efforts to inform parents about using filtering functions to restrict access to harmful websites.

4 Comments

A spokesman for the National Police Agency. A Cabinet Office survey shows that nearly 70% of respondents blame the spread of smartphones and the Internet for growing juvenile delinquency in Japan. (NHK)

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4 Comments
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Oh yeah, it's always smartphones' fault for everything in the last few years. There's no doubt that smartphones and their capabilities definitely have potential for harm and abuse, but I never saw folks in Japan constantly criticising regular cell phones, handheld gaming devices and the like as they do with smartphones. I would often, and still do, see kids and adults walking around town oblivious to everything and everyone playing their DS or PSP, texting on Galakei and even reading a manga, some of whom were trying to read these things while riding a bicycle. I think if the smartphone had been pioneered by a Japanese company, it would be viewed a bit differently. That said, it's not the technology's fault, it's the people using it. Teach some common sense and a more holistic approach to societal problems and people might start to realise that you don't need to be glued to your phone 24/7, and hey, maybe trying to read manga/texts on a bicycle will get you or someone else hurt.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Children don't need censorship. They need parents which care and which they can talk to.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

Talk to your children about the dangers of the internet. In other words educate and discuss about the threats concerning their safety, privacy and personal development. Open communication about a child's online activities is vital. Technology, while not a panacea, can also provide some help.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Yeah, and this same 70% do not talk with their children about their day, their friends, their school. Yeah, let's blame smartphones.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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