The Ministry of Education yesterday published a survey on Taiwanese students’ Internet usage habits, which found that high-school students are prone to Internet addiction and on average spend 4.5 hours online on weekends.
The survey was conducted by National Cheng Kung University and Asia University between March and May this year, and sampled 9,027 students from the fourth to 12th grade from 109 schools.
Survey results found that aside from the time they spend on the Internet gathering information needed for homework, students in primary school, middle school and high school on average spend 55.8 minutes, 115.8 minutes and 147.2 minutes online on weekdays respectively.
During weekends, the time they spend on the Internet is up to 120.1 minutes, 231 minutes and 266.1 minutes respectively, the survey showed.
Asia University professor Jenny Ko (柯慧貞) said that while the overall leisure time students spend on the Internet has reduced slightly compared with last year’s results, more high-school students have become addicted to online games.
The percentage of high-school students who have an addiction to online computer games rose from 9.7 percent to 11.5 percent, while those addicted to online games designed for smartphones grew from 15.4 percent to 18 percent.
On the probability of students becoming addicted to the Internet, the figures produced by all three categories have declined, with middle-school students marking the biggest decline — from 6.9 percent to 4.9 percent.
Ko said common symptoms associated with Internet addiction include increased endurance for Internet use, such as using the Internet for longer durations, and withdrawal symptoms, such as feeling anxious, throwing temper tantrums and “losing control” when Internet access is not available.
Ko credited the decline in students determined as prone to addiction to a ministry project aimed at preventing students from developing an addiction and attributed the increase in high-school students dependence on online games to a lack of guidance.
Using South Korea as an example, she said students are protected from Internet addiction using a comprehensive three-phase system: prevention, guidance and treatment.
She said the ministry initiated a similar pilot project in April and is training 2,200 counselors who are to attend 60 schools nationwide next year to teach students healthy Internet habits.
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