Some 15 percent of 3,222 high school students in Tokyo have been insulted or had personal information leaked by others over the Internet, according to poll results recently released by the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education.
"A growing number of children are using the Internet with smartphones, but they are immature in their usage, with few families having any rules about it," a board of education official said. The board plans to reflect the poll results in drawing up measures to prevent Internet bullying.
The poll, conducted from January to February, collected answers from 18,612 students at publicly run schools, between the third and 12th grades, including the 3,222 high school students.
Those who have been insulted by messages or had personal information leaked accounted for 3 percent of elementary school pupils and 9 percent of junior high school students.
Those who felt ignored by friends on social-networking sites or messaging applications stood at 3 percent of elementary pupils, 6 percent of junior high school students and 12 percent of high schoolers.
Of the insulted or ostracized students, 38 percent did nothing after such attacks, 17 percent consulted with friends and 16 percent discussed the attacks with relatives.
The poll found families that had set rules on how to use the Internet at 49 percent of elementary school pupils, 31 percent of junior high school students and 11 percent of high school students.
Students who have their own smartphones ranged from 8 to 25 percent for third- to sixth-graders, 46 to 56 percent for seventh- to ninth-graders and 78 to 87 percent for 10th- to 12th-graders.