Super-Filtering as an Online Safety Measure for the Youth!?

 ■Super-Filtering as an Online Safety Measure for the Youth!?

I will serve as the chief investigator for the Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts, and Telecommunications Task Force for Preparing an Environment for Safe and Secure Internet Use by the Youth.

According to a study by the Cabinet Office, internet usage by the youth is 93%, which is almost all of them. Smartphone usage is 63%.

In the group of youth aged 9 and under, internet usage is 57%, and smartphone usage is 33%.

99% of high school students have their own smartphone. 36% of elementary school students have their own smartphone, and 57% share a smartphone with their parents.

For the youth aged 11-12, smartphone ownership jumped by 25%, with smartphone ownership now exceeding shared usage.

98% of guardians of youth aged 9 and under manage their children’s internet usage.

93% allow for smartphone usage only in places where an adult can see. 58% have designated a time and place for usage.

On the other hand, only 9% use filtering.

Safety and security measures are progressing.

The logo is the same for filtering provided by each communication company. “High School Plus,” which allows usage of social networking services, was added. Settings can be customized easily. The operating system features of iOS and Android can be used now. Measures are stacking on top of each other.

Since filtering is also effective as an antipiracy measure, public needs for dissemination are growing.

Relevant parties continue to put in touching effort. However, dissemination of filtering has dropped below 40% and is trending down. This is the issue.

The following measures have been put in place to support the activity of all relevant parties.

・Publication of actual data regarding filtering usage by mobile phone businesses and solicitation to distributors

・Promotion of efforts by OS businesses (Apple, Google), MVNO, and social networking service providers

・Educational promotion, dissemination of services that are easy to use, and information transmission

Important data was presented by the Japan Internet Safety Promotion Association (JISPA).

While “smartphone dependency” is a concern for over 80% of guardians regarding their children’s smartphone use, illicit access to harmful information, which is the main purpose of filtering, is only a concern for over 30%.

The top 3 concerns of smartphone dependency, the effect on education and grades, and the effect on the body and health are by far the most commonly recognized by guardians as risks of smartphone usage. They see “use for long periods of time” as an issue.

Perhaps filtering is not spreading well because the thoughts of the providers do not line up with the concerns of the users.

Since filtering has features that restrict and control usage time, the promotion of filtering matches the needs of users (parents).

However, it is possible that both providers and users are hesitant because filtering of inappropriate information prohibits use of apps and social networking services, resulting in inconvenience.

Since filtering has various roles, JISPA proposes a different term for filtering that blocks harmful information.

That is “super-filtering!”

Filtering provides good health and makes people smarter.

There may be a need to switch over to a positive route.