NetSTAR

TOKYO September 30th, 2008
Research Panel on Internet Use by Children
NetSTAR, Inc.
Yahoo Japan Corporation

“Research Panel on Internet Use by Children” (Chairman: Akira Sakamoto, Professor, Ochanomizu University) and its organizing bodies, NetSTAR, Inc. and Yahoo Japan Corporation, have developed and published online education materials for the parents and guardians of teenagers. The “Internet Safety Guide for Parents of Teenagers” (hereinafter, the Guide) is designed to clarify the threats children may encounter when using the Internet, and promote discussions at home on appropriate Internet usage. The Guide is available free of charge from the research panel website at http://www.child-safenet.jp/.

According to government research, 68.7% of the children in middle school use the Internet via a PC, and 56.3% from a mobile phone. In high school, the figures increase to 74.5% and 95.5%, respectively. The Internet is now an essential infrastructure for the life of a teenager (“The Fifth Survey on Information Society and Japanese Youth” by the Cabinet Office). Teenagers use mobile phones for email, blog, and SNS (Social Networking Service), and tend to prefer contacting their friends via email rather than calling. On the other hand, less than 10% of the parents are familiar with Internet contents popular amongst their children (according to the 7th “Survey of Home Internet Use” by NetSTAR), and almost 70% have never viewed online contents (blogs, profiles) created by their children, indicating a significant gap in the comprehension of the Internet between the parents and the children.

As with anything else in our daily lives, the Internet is filled with various risks to which our children are exposed and fall prey to. In an attempt to alleviate the damage, educational organizations and private businesses have been providing comprehensive educational materials on Internet usage for children of all age groups and for educators. However, education materials for parents have yet to become widespread. In response to increasing demand from the PTA and classrooms, the research panel, established in April 2008, has been conducting extensive research and investigation on the appropriate use of the Internet. In July, the research panel began to put together its findings into an educational material for parents. The educational material is the result of a combined effort of the research by the academics and educators on the research panel, the knowhow of major Internet businesses (NetSTAR, Yahoo Japan, Microsoft Japan, mixi, and NTT Resonant) on the handling of harmful Internet contents, and the parents’ perspectives as presented by the National Federation of High School Parent-Teacher Associations.

The educational material is presented using Adobe Flash, and is grouped into four sections:
1) The reality of Internet usage by teenagers, including typical troubles experience by each sex.
2) Risks involved in using interactive websites.
3) Basic knowledge parents should have on the characteristics of the Internet and the working of filtering systems.
4) Tips on communicating with your children about Internet use.
The contents aim to provide essential information to parents of teenagers, whose knowledge of the Internet tends to be significantly lacking when compared to their children, so as to assist them in taking the appropriate “first step” at home.

The research panel, together with NetSTAR and Yahoo Japan, will distribute the educational material free of charge, and will also collaborate with the National Federation of High School Parent-Teacher Associations to hold model seminars in 9 locations across Japan. Additional information will also be provided on the research panel’s website to further assist local instructors in making effective use of the educational material. Furthermore, the research panel will continue its research on a method for evaluating the safeness of interactive websites, and hopes to report its findings before the end of the year.

 

“Internet Safety Guide for Parents of Teenagers”

Produced and created by:	Research Panel on Internet Use by Children
In collaboration with:	NetSTAR, Inc., Yahoo Japan Corporation, Microsoft Co., Ltd.
	mixi, Inc., NTT Resonant Inc.,
	National Federation of High School Parent-Teacher Associations
	(Total of 6 organizations)
URL:	http://www.child-safenet.jp/
Media format:	Flash contents, also available for download
Volume:	Approx. 50 pages
Contents:	Checklist
	Internet usage by teenagers
	Reality of Internet use by teenagers
	Characteristics of teenagers and provided services
	Trends in troubles experienced by boys and girls
	Issues with teenage use of the Internet
	The Internet is part of the “real world”
	What is filtering?
	What filtering can do for you
	Filtering and interactive websites
	Tips on communicating with your children
	Summary
	References

■ About the Research Panel on Internet Use by Children
The research panel was founded in April 2008 to conduct extensive research on the appropriate use of the Internet and to provide information to parents and website operators. The research panel is operated by NetSTAR and Yahoo Japan.
Chairman: Sakamoto, Akira (Professor, Ochanomizu University)
Committee:Nanami, Yoh (Lecturer, Children's Health, Hamamatsu University)
Shimoda, Hirotsugu (Adjunct professor, Gunma University)
Takahashi, Masao (Chairman, National Federation of High School Parent-Teacher Associations)
Takeshima, Tadashi (Director, Suicide Prevention Center, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry)
Urushi, Shihoko (Principal, Shinagawa Joshi Gakuin Middle/High School)
*In alphabetical order