NetSTAR

TOKYO October 10th, 2008

NetSTAR, Inc. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Noboru Ogahara; hereinafter “NetSTAR”), a developer of URL filtering product technologies and services, also involved in the collection, categorization, and delivery of URL lists, hereby presents the findings from its 8th “Survey of Home Internet Use.”

NetSTAR has been conducting a series of surveys since 2004 to study the reality of home Internet use by parents and children. The latest survey was conducted against approximately 1,200 each of high school students and parents with children in high school. The findings can be largely summarized by the following two points.

(1) High schoolers are aware of the complexity of online communication, but actively participate in interactive websites
When asked about trends that apply to them in posting to blogs and forums, many high schoolers responded that they “can say things that [they] would not say in person” (32%) or “try to act cool” (24.4%), illustrating their awareness of the complexity of online communication. When asked about unpleasant experiences, “postings of links to adult and dating sites” topped the list for blogs and forums, while “inappropriate comments from strangers” topped the list for SNS, showing a slight difference amongst different types of communication sites. It was also noted that while parents tend to use utilitarian contents such as “transit information” and “news and weather,” high schoolers tend to use interactive entertainment contents such “forum/blog/SNS” and “video sharing.”

(2) The essential prerequisite for minimizing and educating about online risks is for parents to understand the fundamental “workings of the Internet”
53.7% of the high schoolers listed their “friends” as the primary source for consultation for problems experienced online. As for the reason for not consulting their parents, the “hassle of explaining” topped the list at 41.9%. When asked what would make it easier for them to consult their parents, “understanding how the Internet works” gained the greatest votes at 52.3%, significantly outnumbering “the willingness to listen, with or without knowledge of the situation” (31.1%) and “general knowledge of the service” (19.7%). It is worth noting that when a parent cautioned his/her child about the risk of exposing personal information online, 51.5% of the children “understood and deleted the information.”

Overall, the survey revealed that in educating and advising high schoolers who already have some experience and risk awareness in Internet use, parents will need to understand the significant difference in the “passive/utilitarian” usage by themselves and the “active/participatory” usage by their children, but more essentially, have a fundamental understanding of the “workings of the Internet.”
NetSTAR, together with the “Research Panel on Internet Use by Children,” will make use of its findings to educate users on Internet risks and continue to make an effort to realize an Internet environment that is safe for all users.

■ Survey Background
Today, the Internet environment surrounding our children is festered with various problems, such as crimes associated with communication sites. The latest survey aimed to recognize the current reality of home Internet use by high schoolers and their parents, so as to grasp the existing issues and provide more effective countermeasures.

■ Survey Method
Under the request of NetSTAR, Macromill, Inc. conducted an online survey on September 9 and 10, 2008. The respondent body was comprised of children in grades 10 thru 12, and parents with children in that age group. A total of 2,472 valid responses were collected, with the respondent’s child or the respondent’s academic grade distributed evenly, and the parents’ age group distributed as follows:
- Thirties: 5%
- Forties: 71%
- Fifties: 23%
- Sixties: 1%

■ Primary Findings and Comments (Graphs in Japanese only)
▼ Parents use mobile phones primarily for email and phone calls, and use their PC for Internet access
- Parents listed “email” and “phone call” as the most frequently used functions of their mobile phone, at 70.6% and 50.5%, respectively. On the other hand, only 27.4% listed “Internet access” as a common usage of their mobile phone. (See Graph 1)
- When asked how they access the Internet, only a small percentage of the parents responded that they use their mobile phone, with the total of “Mostly from mobile phone” and “About the same from both mobile phone and PC” at a mere 9.3%. On the other hand, the percentage was 34.4% for high schoolers. (See Graph 2)

▼ Majority of both parents and high schoolers have experienced online purchases, but of different categories
- Over 90% of parents and over 80% of high schoolers have experienced online purchases. For both groups, the most frequently shopped category was “commodities” for purchases made on a PC, and “ringtones” for purchases made on a mobile phone. At the same time, items such as “virtual currency for online games,” “avatar items,” and “games” were commonly purchased by high schoolers, but were rarely purchased by parents. (See Graphs 3. Graphs 4. Graphs 5.)

▼ Significant difference between parents and children in their reason for using the Internet, with few parents accessing websites popular amongst high schoolers
- Parents tend to use the Internet primarily for read-only contents such as “news/weather.” On the other hand, interactive entertainment contents such as “forum/blog/SNS” and “video sharing” were popular amongst high schoolers. When asked to list websites they have actually visited on their mobile phone, very few parents listed websites popular amongst high schoolers. (See Graphs 6. Graphs 7. Graphs 8. Graphs 9. Graphs 10. Graphs 11. Graphs 12. Graphs 13. Graphs 14.)
- At 52.4%, “news and weather” was listed as the most common purpose for parents to access the Internet via their mobile phone, while the same percentage for high schoolers stood at 33.1%. Contrarily, only 13% of the parents responded that they “post blog articles and comment on others’ blogs” via their mobile phone, while the percentage reached 42.2% for high schoolers, topping the list of purposes. There was also a notable difference in usage between the sexes, with fathers favoring news and weather, mothers favoring ringtones, boys favoring games, and girls favoring postings and commenting on blogs. (See Graphs 15 and Graphs 16.)
- 28.6% of the parents responded that they have “accessed websites created by [my] child,” with mothers showing a greater percentage over the fathers. The percentage was also higher for parents of girls than for parents of boys, and with the greatest percentage achieved for "mother of a high schooler girl” at 48.2%. (See Graphs 17. Graphs 18. Graphs 19.)

▼ Most parents only grasp the “usage fee” for their child’s mobile Internet usage, and do not interfere with the actions their child take online
- Over 90% of the parents are aware of their child’s “usage fee” for mobile Internet use. Less than half of the parents are aware of the “usage hours” and “services used” by their child, and only 10% are aware of “sites used” and “address book entries.” (See Graph 20)
- 12.7% of the parents responded that their child “has experience” of making a new acquaintance online. (See Graph 21)
- 31.9% of the parents have a grasp of what personal information is publicized online by their child, with “sex” topping the list of the publicized information at 62.5%, followed by “age or grade” and “school.” Mothers showed a greater awareness than fathers. Responses from high schoolers show that they actually publicize more personal information on their profile pages and blogs than their parents are aware of. (See Graphs 22. Graphs 23. Graphs 24. Graphs25. Graphs26. Graphs 27. Graphs 28. Graphs 29. Graphs 30. Graphs 31.)

▼ Primary parental concerns include “lack of skepticism” and “overuse”
- 58.4% of the parents “have anxiety about (their) child using the Internet,” with the mothers showing a relatively greater concern over the fathers. More specifically, over 50% of both mothers and fathers are concerned of their children “believing information online without questioning.” (See Graphs 32. Graphs 33. Graphs 34.)
- At 48.5%, “prolonged use of the Internet” topped the list for parental concerns about Internet use by their children, followed by “falling victim to a fraud” and “too much gaming.” “Falling victim to fraud” was a particularly notable response from fathers, while “meeting strangers of the same age group” was notable amongst mothers. (See Graphs 35 and Graphs 36)

▼ High schoolers are aware that the Internet can be used to “say things that [they] would not say in person,” and may even feel anxiety in using the Internet
- When asked about trends that apply to them in posting online, many high schoolers responded that they “can say things that [they] would not say in person” (32%), followed by “try to act cool” and “exaggerate things.” It can be said that a significant proportion of the high schoolers are aware of the complexity of communication online. (See Graph 37)
- About 30% of the high schoolers have “felt fear or unpleasantness” in using the Internet, with “forums” being the most common scene amongst communication sites. In general, girls have more negative experiences. As for the reason for the negative experience, “links to unpleasant sites” and “inappropriate comments” stand out for profile pages and blogs. This may be indicating that because the children are publicizing personal information, they are falling prey to malicious users targeting particular age groups and sex. (See Graphs 38. Graphs 39. Graphs 40.)

▼ High schoolers will talk to and consult parents about Internet use if the parents are knowledgeable
- When asked who they consult about problems encountered online, most high schoolers responded “friends” (53.7%), followed by “mother” and “father.” (See Graph 41)
- The most popular reason for high schoolers consulting their parents was “ease of consulting due to habitual communication” at 35.8%. On the other hand, 41.9% responded that they “do not consult [their] parents” due to the “hassle of explaining,” followed by “parents will unlikely be able to help” and “don't want parents to know/see what sites are used.” (See Graphs 42 and Graphs 43)
- In consulting their parents, most high schoolers want their parents to have an “understanding of how the Internet works” (52.3%). The “willingness to listen” and “general knowledge of the service used” follows on the list. (See Graph 44)

▼ Majority of children will listen to parents’ advise about publicizing information online
- Over 50% of the parents responded that they caution or advise their child about the “risk of publicizing personal information online” and “deleting personal information.” The survey also revealed that, when advised, over 50% of the children “understood and deleted the information.” (See Graphs 45 and Graphs 46)

▼ Most parents consider the Internet to be a necessity for high schoolers, and over 70% take measures to prevent problems
- Over 90% of the parents responded that the Internet is “necessary and/or useful” for high schoolers. This indicates that the required methodology is one that promotes the safe and appropriate use of the Internet, and not one that prohibits Internet use entirely. (See Graph 47)
- Over 50% of the parents responded that they take measures to prevent their children from encountering problems online, for example by “occasionally communicating about Internet use” and “conducting education on Internet literacy.” 70.9% of the parents have already held one form or another of conversation about Internet use. With respect to the actual methodology, “use of filtering services” stood out amongst fathers, while “discussing with the child” stood out amongst mothers. (See Graphs 48. Graphs 49. Graphs 50.)

■ About NetSTAR, Inc.
NetSTAR specializes in the development of URL filtering engine, and in the collection, categorization, and delivery of URL lists.
Its URL lists boast the largest market share in Japan for corporate filtering products, at well over 40%, and are also used widely by home filtering services provided by ISPs and broadband routers.

For more information, visit http://www.netstar-inc.com/.

■ Trademark Information
NetSTAR is a trademark or registered trademark of NetSTAR, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.