世論 What Japan Thinks

Perhaps this Christmas many children in both Japan and the rest of the world found a mobile phone in their stockings. To see how elementary school-aged children view their phones, goo Research released on Christmas day the results of a survey of users of Kids goo (goo’s child-targeted portal) on children’s use of mobile phones.

Demographics

Between the 9th and 26th of November 2007 1,100 elementary school-aged users of the Kids goo portal completed a public survey available through the web site. 60.0% were girls, 3.7% in first year of elementary school, 4.8% in second year of elementary school, 7.7% in third year of elementary school, 20.0% in fourth year of elementary school, 28.9% in fifth year of elementary school, and 34.9% in sixth year of elementary school.

In Q6, it’s interesting to see the differences between the sexes; boys have significantly less contact with friends through mobile phones. The reasons for this would be fascinating to investigate further; is it that girls are more sociable with their friends, or do boys prefer to meet in person, or is there another driving force behind the differences?

In Q7 I’m really surprised that 45% of the mobile phone using children have basically no parent-enforced usage rules. I would hope that the parent has set up limits with the service provider such as blocking potentially harmful sites or even turning off internet access altogether, and other limits such as not allowing them to make any payments for site access or content download.

Research results

Q1: Do you have use of a mobile phone? (Sample size=1,100)

	All	Boys N=440	Girls N=660
Have one for my own use	34.4%	29.4%	37.8%
Share one with siblings	2.6%	2.7%	2.4%
Parents give me one when I need it (to Q5)	19.3%	19.4%	19.2%
Yes, other usage pattern (to Q5)	3.1%	4.7%	2.0%
Don’t use a mobile phone (to end of survey)	40.7%	43.8%	38.7%

Q2: What kind of mobile phone do you have? (Sample size=406)

Child-targeted phone	37.2%
Adult-type phone	60.1%
Don’t know	2.7%

Q3: At what age did you first start carrying a mobile phone? (Sample size=406)

Before entering school	9.6%
From first year	7.1%
From second year	8.6%
From third year	19.5%
From fourth year	25.1%
From fifth year	19.2%
From sixth year	10.8%

Q4: What was the cue for you to start carrying a mobile phone? (Sample size=406)

Told parents I wanted one and they bought it for me	32.3%
Parents said I should have one	43.4%
School, cram school, etc said I should have one	13.1%
Other	11.3%

Those who get a phone from their parents as needed, etc, were also asked the following questions.

Q5: Who do you communicate with and how? (Sample size=652, multiple answer)

	All	Boys	Girls
Talk with parents, family	76.7%	73.9%	78.4%
Email with parents, family	59.1%	48.2%	65.8%
Email with friends	45.9%	28.1%	56.8%
Talk with friends	37.3%	27.7%	43.2%
Use bulletin boards, chat, etc	8.1%	11.2%	6.2%
Other	6.9%	8.8%	5.7%

Q6: What functions do you use on your mobile phone? (Sample size=652, multiple answer)

Clock, alarm clock	79.9%
Listen to music	62.3%
Electronic wallet functions	7.7%
Camera	81.9%
Anti-crime buzzer	25.3%
Other	3.1%

Q7: What rules have your family set regarding mobile phone use? (Sample size=652, multiple answer)

How much I can spend	25.0%
What functions I can use	21.6%
Who I can talk, email to	19.5%
What situations I can use it	11.4%
What times I can use it	7.7%
Other	2.5%
No particular rules	45.9%

Q8: What does having a mobile phone mean to you? (Sample size=652)

	All	Boys	Girls
Problem if I don’t have one!	39.7%	33.3%	43.7%
Best to have if possible	49.9%	49.0%	50.4%
Wouldn’t care if I didn’t have one	10.0%	16.9%	5.7%
Other	0.5%	0.8%	0.3%