Smartphone Addiction

[Anchor Lead]

The number of young people getting addicted to their smartphones is rapidly growing in South Korea. The latest study shows that one out of six children younger than ten years old is addicted to their smartphone. Let's find out more.

[Pkg]

A child is watching a video on a smartphone. Another child plays a smartphone game. As her mother take the phone away, the girl throws a tantrum.

[Soundbite] Housewife(Voice modified) : "When I work at home, it is convenient for me to give a smartphone to my children. But I am also worried that they use it for too long. So I sometimes stop them and take the smartphone away. And my children throw a tantrum."

A government study shows that 7.42 million people or 18 percent of South Korea's population excessively depend on smartphones. Among them, some 590,000 are children aged between three and nine, which is up more than 180,000 from a year earlier. This means that one out of six children in this age group is addicted to smartphones. In particular, one out of four children is a smartphone addict, when their parents also indulge in the use of smartphones.

[Soundbite] Choi Seung-mi(Seoul Internet Addiction Prevention Center) : "Children develop interest in smartphones while watching their parents use them. It is better for parents to physically play and have various experiences with their children than giving them smartphones."

The study also found that the number of seniors addicted to smartphones is rapidly increasing, with 12 percent of people aged 60 or older heavily dependent on smartphones.