"Despite working full-time for a company in Tokyo, Shoki Moriyama manages to eke out eight hours a day to devote to his smartphone. I need my phone to navigate my way through the information wars, says Moriyama, who at 25 is part of a generation that can't imagine life without scrolling through news and social media, messaging apps and off-the-wall video clips."
"While excessive smartphone use is a worldwide phenomenon, authorities in Japan are taking action, amid growing concern over its physical and psychological toll, particularly on children and young people. Last week, the town of Toyoake in central Japan introduced a measure limiting smartphone use among its 69,000 residents to two hours a day, in what officials say was an attempt to tackle evidence of online addiction and sleep deprivation."
"I spend around eight hours a day on my phone, so two hours is way too little and not enough time for me to stay up to date with everything, he says. In the end I used my smartphone for an hour and 50 minutes, which is a massive reduction on my usual screen time. I used the extra time to read a book, study a little and go to the gym, so my day wasn't wasted."
Young people in Japan often spend many hours daily on smartphones for news, social media, messaging and short videos. Local officials have raised concerns about physical and psychological harms, especially among children and teenagers. The town of Toyoake passed an ordinance recommending a two-hour daily limit for its 69,000 residents, aimed at reducing online addiction and sleep deprivation; the measure carries no penalties. Some young people attempted to restrict usage to two hours with mixed results: a few achieved significant reductions and used freed time for reading, studying and exercise, while others found two hours insufficient to stay informed.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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