More than half of young Taiwanese admit they are addicted to their smartphone, according to a survey conducted by the National Development Council in July last year, the results of which were not released until last month.
The results showed that 54 percent of Taiwanese smartphone users aged 20 or younger considered themselves addicted to their device, higher than 29.3 percent in a survey the previous year.
Among users in the 20-to-29 and 30-to-39 age groups, self-confessed smartphone addiction was 36.4 percent and 37.9 percent respectively, an increase of about 10 percentage points compared with a year earlier.
Overall, about a quarter (27.6 percent) of Taiwanese saw themselves as smartphone addicts, 6.8 percentage points higher than in 2018.
Meanwhile, the survey found that 89.8 percent of smartphone users used the device to go online last year, 1.6 percentage points higher than the previous year.
That was compared with 35.3 percent who used their smartphone to go online in 2011.
Among the most popular uses of smartphones was browsing social media, searching for information and entertainment, such as watching videos and playing games, the survey showed.
The survey found that users aged 20 or younger spent an average of 312 minutes per day browsing the Internet with their phone last year, about 30 minutes more than in 2018.
Smartphone and Internet addiction among young Taiwanese is becoming more prevalent and it is leading to social problems, as the behavior has undesirable effects on people’s health and their lifestyles, the council said.
The survey, which collected 1,517 valid samples through telephone interviews, was conducted from July 1 to 5 last year.
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