Smartphone addiction on rise for Taiwan teens

2015/09/21

Taiwan’s teenagers are exhibiting signs of smartphone addiction, with the risk rising significantly as they advance in years, according to a survey released Sept. 17 by the Ministry of Education.

In an annual poll of three local student groups, between 7.1 percent and 18 percent of respondents are deemed at risk of developing serious smartphone addiction, up from between 6.5 percent and 15.4 percent a year ago. Nearly 88 percent own a smartphone.

When it comes to developing online gaming addiction, between 7.5 percent and 12.1 percent are considered at serious risk, up from between 6.9 percent and 11.8 percent. Those attending junior high top the chart.

“The ministry is stepping up efforts to address this issue,” an MOE official said. “We plan on rolling out support measures nationwide to immediately assist 60 percent of educators develop addiction identification skills, as well as train 2,200 counselors in three years.”

The official urged parents to spend more time discussing related issues with their children and working together on guidelines when it comes to smartphone usage.

MOE data reveals that 90 percent of respondents have PC-based Internet access at home, with 83 percent enjoying wireless connections. Only 1.48 percent said they have never surfed the Net.

During weekdays, students in the fourth to sixth grades spent 57.8 minutes per day on the Internet for nonschool purposes, while the time for junior and senior high school students was 115.8 and 147.2 minutes. The daily average doubled over the weekend for all three groups.

Facebook was named as the most popular social media network by the students, with 67 percent, 93.5 percent and 94.3 percent, respectively, of the groups describing themselves as regular users.

The poll, now in its second year, was jointly conducted by Taichung City-based Asia University and Tainan City-based National Cheng Kung University. It was carried out via questionnaires between March and May, receiving valid responses from 9,027 teenagers in 109 schools nationwide with a 95 percent confidence level.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=236837&ctNode=2194&mp=9)