***Survey Shows Cell Phone Secrets of Japanese Youth
(January 2)
In a recently released government report, Japanese officials
revealed that two-thirds of Japanese high school students own a
mobile phone. According to a Management and Coordination Agency
(MCA) survey of youth trends, 59% of Japanese high school juniors
– 68% of girls and 50% of boys - have their own mobile phone. And
among teens without a mobile phone, two-thirds (67%) said they
wanted to get one if they could get their parents' permission.
The percentage of Japanese teens 16 and older who own a mobile
phone is almost certainly well above 60% now, since the MCA
survey, although released on December 22, 2000, was actually
conducted at the end of 1999.
The survey questioned 3,152 high school juniors and 2,901
parents/guardians in six areas of the nation, including Tokyo.
The students polled had, on average, monthly mobile phone bills
of about US $58.80 per month. Nearly 17% paid more than US $87.75
in mobile phone fees per month, while 2% had monthly bills of
more than US $175.
One-third of the students said they paid the full cost
themselves, while almost another third said their parents paid
their entire bill. Some reports suggest that teen spending on
games and entertainment has dropped because many are using their
allowances/earnings to pay feed their mobile phone habit instead.
The survey found that boys, on average, made six calls per day
while girls made five calls daily. More than 22%, however, said
they talked at least 10 times per day, and 45% said they used
their mobile phone to send 10 or more e-mail messages each day.
Among the parents survey, 36% complained that their
sons/daughters spent too much time on the phone while 23% said
they were concerned that the mobile phone made it difficult for
them to keep tabs on who their children were communicating with.
The latter may be a valid worry, since 26% of the teens said they
were carrying on regular e-mail correspondence with persons they
had never met.
Asked what are the main benefits of having a mobile phone, 90% of
students answered that it was easier to keep in touch with
friends, 70% said they could talk freely with their
girlfriend/boyfriend, and 66% said they could readily contact or
be contacted by family members.
Respondents were also asked to rate their own academic
performance; 68% of those who answered they made poor grades
owned a mobile phone, compared with 49% of those who said they
were making good grades.
Wave Issue 0101 1/4/01 Article 4-01