"Need for SNS Restrictions"... More Than Half of Japanese Teens Agree

Japanese Government Releases Interim Findings from Survey of 100,000 People
53.2% of Males and 59.7% of Females Aged 15-19 Support Restrictions
Legal Revisions Planned Following Final Report in December

More than half of Japanese teenagers aged 15 to 19 responded that there should be restrictions on children's use of social networking services (SNS).

Photo to aid understanding of the article. Pixabay

According to Yonhap News on September 2, the Children and Families Agency of Japan released interim results of the “Comprehensive Survey of 100,000 Youth” on August 31. The survey targeted 101,950 individuals aged 15 to 39, with 67,905 valid responses processed. The survey period lasted from May 20 to August 5. There were around 50 questions in the survey, which included topics such as employment and annual income, relationships, perceptions regarding marriage and childbirth, and self-affirmation. The Children and Families Agency included a question on attitudes toward SNS usage, noting the significant link between SNS and mental health.

Regarding the item, "It is necessary to restrict the use of SNS for children below a certain age," more than half of respondents in all age groups agreed. Among the youngest group surveyed, ages 15 to 19, approval rates were 53.2% for male respondents and 59.7% for female respondents, with both figures above 50%. In the case of women, the rate increased for those aged 30 to 34, reaching 69.7%, and the highest rate was seen among women aged 35 to 39 at 71.7%.

On the question, "There is a need to block children's use of SNS after a certain time," approval rates exceeded 50% across all age groups. For women aged 30 to 34, the approval rate was 70.9%, and for those aged 35 to 39, it was 73.1%, making women in their 30s the group with the highest support.

The Japanese government is reviewing restrictions on children's SNS use through a task force at the Children and Families Agency. In an interim report released in July, the task force suggested measures that would require service providers to self-assess the risks arising from children's SNS usage and make those assessments public. The report also recommended more active discussion about introducing uniform age-based restrictions. The results of this survey are interim; once the task force's final report is released in December, the government plans to use it as a basis for amending the Youth Internet Environment Improvement Act. Earlier, the Children and Families Agency stated, “(Through this survey) we will identify the actual situation and the support needs of young people and reflect these findings in policies such as measures to address the declining birthrate.”

Worldwide discussions on SNS regulation have spread since Australia banned the use of SNS for those under the age of 16 in December last year. The Australian government has imposed fines of up to AUD 49.5 million (about 4.97 billion won) on platform companies that do not prevent account registration by those under 16, and announced in July that it plans to raise this cap to AUD 99 million (about 10.5 billion won).

In addition, the UK government is pursuing legislation to block SNS usage by minors under 16, and the European Union (EU) has also announced plans for regulations that would ban SNS access for children across member countries. Since June of this year, Malaysia has prevented account registration for those under 16, and France attempted to introduce a policy restricting use for those under 15 but was blocked by its constitutional court, which ruled the measure unconstitutional.

Legislative discussions are also underway in Korea. In July, Kim Jongcheol, Chairperson of the Korea Communications, Broadcasting, and Media Committee, announced in a presidential policy briefing that the government is gradually reviewing a plan to restrict SNS sign-ups for those under 14, and to limit exposure to recommendation algorithms that promote excessive use for those aged 14 to 19. Around seven related bills have also been proposed in the National Assembly.

Meanwhile, a recent survey conducted by the Media Research Center of the Korea Press Foundation found that 70.7% of respondents supported restrictions on SNS use among teenagers. The survey targeted 1,000 individuals aged 14 to 58.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.