[Photo by Yoo Dae-gil = dbeorlf123@]
Some 198,642 students or 13.6 percent of 1.45 million elementary, middle and high school students polled by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family were addicted to the Internet or smartphones.
The poll found that 54,986, or 3.8 percent, were addicted to both. About 25,900 students, or 1.8 percent, were listed as seriously addicted, requiring treatment from specialists and doctors. It showed that 94 percent have smartphones.
Internet or smartphone addiction has become a serious social issue in South Korea thanks to the widespread use of smartphones and other devices.
JobKorea, a job portal, said in a survey last year that every day, South Korean workers spent an average 5.2 hours using smartphones. More than 28 percent said they felt anxious when they have no smartphones in their hands.
Peak times for smartphone use was during commutes (45.7 percent), before going to sleep (26.3 percent) and during work breaks (17.6 percent). The most frequently used functions were mobile messengers (72.2 percent), online news (46.3 percent) and social networking sites (36.4 percent).
About 27 percent grabbed smartphones even when they rushed to the bathroom.
Aju News Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
