By Yoon Ja-young
In this digital era, children learn to control a mouse before they learn to write. Recent statistics showed that young children use computers and the Internet more than adults in their 50s.
According to data released by the Korea Communications Commission and Korea Internet Security Agency, 66.2 percent of children aged between three and five were using the Internet, up 3.2 percentage points from a survey last year. The ratio is higher than the 57.4 percent of those in their 50s.
Parents here often describe how their children amaze them by skillfully using tablets and smartphones. “A child I know ran to the door to welcome his daddy coming from work. He was holding an iPad, and was asking his daddy to input the password to buy an application,” said Kim Hyun-ji, a housewife in Bundang, Gyeonggi Province. She added that children don’t make typos on the touch screen thanks to their tiny fingertips.
The statistics indicated that smart devices are rapidly becoming commonly used here. Four out of ten households had at least one smart device, while only 4.9 percent had one last year. The ratio of households with a desktop or a laptop, meanwhile, marked 81.9 percent, basically the same as last year’s ratio of 81.8 percent.
The infiltration of smart devices is changing the way the Internet is accessed and creates a wealth of other services. Half of Internet users responded they can be online anywhere using their smartphone; 49.4 percent of messenger users and 31.5 percent of social network service users said they use a smartphone for access, while the ratio was less than 2 percent for each last year. One out of four took advantage of Internet banking with a smartphone.
Meanwhile, a widening IT gap in the “smart era” is forming. While two out of three households with 4 million won or more in monthly average income had a smart device, the ratio fell to 10 percent for the households with less than 1 million won in income. Those with a smart device were more likely to have other devices as well, such as a desktop, digital camera, a navigation system in their car and a digital TV.
Respondents were mostly using the Internet to get information, or for communication such as email and messenger service, or for leisure.
Over half were purchasing or selling products or services through the Internet, and it was often used as a study aid as well.