10% of students use handsets for over 5 hours a day
By Yun Suh-young
Smartphone addiction among students is becoming a more serious problem than Internet addiction.
A recent survey by the Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education on 1.45 million elementary, middle and high school students showed 66 percent of them had smartphones and 1 out of 10 were in the high-risk group who used it for over five hours a day.
The survey was conducted from Sept. 3 through 21 on 536,000 elementary school students from grades 3 to 6 and 915,000 middle and high school students.
According to the survey, 47.6 percent of elementary school, 75.9 percent of middle school, and 77.2 percent of high school students had smartphones.
Of them, 45 percent of students answered they used the device for one to three hours a day and 27 percent used it for less than one hour. Eighteen percent said they used it for three to five hours and 10 percent said they used it for over five hours.
The number of students who used smartphones for over five hours a day increased by grade, posing a serious addiction problem when they should be spending more time on their studies.
The percentage of elementary school students spending over five hours on their smartphones was 3 percent but increased to 10 percent in middle schools and 15 percent in high schools.
The major purpose of using the handsets was to chat via instant messengers (74 percent). Making calls and sending text messages was at 67 percent followed by listening to music at 64 percent and looking up information on the Internet at 54 percent. Fifty-two percent played games.
The high-risk group stood at 2.2 percent of the total respondents and 5.7 percent were categorized as potential addicts.
The percentage of students in the high-risk group was highest among middle school students at 2.81 percent followed by high school students at 2.42 percent and elementary school students at 1.04 percent.
Students in the high-risk group showed withdrawal symptoms and difficulty in normal daily life. They had problems in their academic life or retaining personal relationships. Some only communicate through smartphones and others showed anxiety if they did not have the electronic device.
There were found to be twice as many students addicted to smartphones compared to those addicted to the Internet (1.01 percent).
To try and prevent smartphone addiction in students, the educational office has decided to take action.
It will educate students on proper cell phone usage and provide counseling for those in the high-risk group.
“We will publish a casebook on smartphone usage in education so that students can use the handsets for healthy educational purposes. We will also encourage students to engage in clubs campaigning for healthy cyberspace activities. A video contest to promote healthy smartphone use will also be held,” said an official from the education office.
“Moreover, those in the high-risk group will receive counseling from their schools and if they show serious problems, they will receive counseling from the Korean Association of Youth Counseling and Support Center.”
The education office plans to conduct a survey on student smartphone addiction every year.

초·중·고생 '스마트폰 중독' 인터넷중독보다 심각
초·중·고등학생들의 스마트폰 중독이 인터넷 중독보다 심한 것으로 나타났다. 특히 10명 가운데 1명은 하루 5시간 이상 쓰는 것으로 조사됐다.
경기도교육청은 지난달 3~21일 도내 초등학교 3~6학년생 53만6029명, 중학교 및 고등학교 전 학생 91만5305명 등 145만1334명을 대상으로 학급단위 집단 지필검사 방식으로 스마트폰 이용습관을 조사했다고 24일 밝혔다.
조사 결과 66%가 스마트폰을 갖고 있는 것으로 나타났다. 보유 비율은 고등학생이 77.2%, 중학생 75.9%, 초등학생이 47.6% 순이었다.
학생들의 평균 사용 시간은 1~3시간 미만이 45%로 가장 많았고, 5시간 이상 쓴다는 학생도 10%에 달했다. 스마트폰 사용은 채팅 및 메신저가 74%로 가장 많고 전화·문자(67%), 음악·MP3(64%), 정보검색(54%), 게임(52%) 순이었다.
이를 바탕으로 한국정보화진흥원이 개발한 스마트폰 중독 진단 척도로 분석한 결과 조사 대상 학생의 2.2%가 중독 고위험군(위험사용자군)으로 분류됐다. 인터넷 중독 위험군 비율인 1.01%보다 배가 넘는 수치다.
또 잠재적 위험군도 5.7%로 인터넷 2.93%의 2배에 육박하는 수치로 조사됐다. 특히 스마트폰 중독 고위험 비율은 중학생이 2.81%로 가장 많았고, 고등학생 2.42%, 초등학생은 1.04%로 조사됐다.
인터넷 중독의 경우 고위험군 비율은 고학년으로 갈수록 낮아지지만, 스마트폰 중독은 오히려 높아졌다.
경기도교육청은 학생들의 스마트폰 중독이 심각한 것으로 나타남에 따라 스마트폰 사용에 대한 교육을 강화하고 중독 예방 대책을 마련하기로 했다.
특히 고위험군 학생들에 대해서는 전문상담교사 및 청소년 상담지원기관인 ‘Wee’ 센터를 통해 상담하고, 중독 정도가 심한 학생은 경기도청소년상담지원센터에 의뢰해 전문적인 상담과 치료를 받도록 했다.