世論 What Japan Thinks

A subject that pops up every so often is the matter of children and cellphone usage, this time conducted by MyVoice.

Demographics

Over the first five days of November 2008 14,671 members of the MyVoice internet community successfully completed a private online questionnaire. 54% of the sample were female, 2% in their teens, 15% in their twenties, 34% in their thirties, 30% in their forties, and 19% aged fifty or older.

Pictured here is Willcom’s child cellphone from Bandai, the papipo!, with a Tamagochi theme to it. Perhaps it’s just me, but it does look awfully like a toilet seat when folded closed…

In Q3 it’s interesting that in child cellphones, docomo loses out to both au and SoftBank compared to the percentages for adult phone ownership.

Research results

Q1: Do you have children under the age of twenty? (Sample size=14,671)

Yes	35.5%
No	64.5%

Q2: Do your children carry cellphones? If so, what ages are they? (Sample size=those with children, multiple answer)

Below school age	1.9%
Elementary first year	1.1%
Elementary second year	1.4%
Elementary third year	1.9%
Elementary fourth year	2.6%
Elementary fifth year	2.9%
Elementary sixth year	3.3%
Junior high first year	4.8%
Junior high second year	5.8%
Junior high third year	6.0%
Senior high school	30.9%
Don’t have mobile phone	49.2%
No answer	1.8%

Q3: Which cellphone provider do they use? If more than one child, answer for the youngest with a cellphone. (Sample size=those with junior high or under cellphone-carrying children)

NTT docomo	36.4%
au by KDDI	34.5%
SoftBank	26.1%
Willcom	1.6%
E-mobile	0.0%
No answer	1.5%

Q4: What sort of cellphone and contract does your youngest carrying child have? (Sample size=those with junior high or under cellphone-carrying children)

Bought child phone with new contract	29.3%
Bought beginner, senior phone with new contract	2.8%
Use private mobile phone	2.5%
Bought ordinary phone with new contract	54.9%
Handed down older child’s, parent’s phone	4.9%
Other	3.8%
No answer	1.7%

Q5: Who chose this cellphone? (Sample size=those with junior high or under cellphone-carrying children)

Child chose	24.1%
Parent and child together chose together	53.1%
Child and other adult chose together	1.4%
Parent chose	19.0%
Other adult chose	0.4%
Other	0.4%
No answer	1.5%

Q6: Why did you first decide to give them a cellphone? (Sample size=those with junior high or under cellphone-carrying children, multiple reason)

Crime prevention	55.5%
To find out what the child was up to	42.6%
All child’s friends had one	16.4%
Child wanted one	13.2%
To increase opportunities to communicate with child	11.0%
Just because	2.4%
Other	16.8%
No answer	1.9%