Children to be Banned from Mobile Phones?
- Filed under: Japan, News
- Date: Jun 17, 2008 22:26 JST
- Tags: LDP, Mobile Phones, Politics, School, Think of the Children
“It’s undesirable for elementary schoolers to possess mobile phones”. With these sentiments, a group of LDP politicians has established the “Study Group for Ensuring the Protection of Elementary School Children from Mobile Phones”, and their stated objective is to introduce legislation before the Diet which will ban both elementary and middle school students from possessing mobile phones.
“Children are using mobile phones during lunch breaks and before they go to bed”, “With the exchange of mail the children are developing a form of dependence on their mobiles”, etc.
They seem also to wish to put a stop to this usage outside of school as well, although they have yet to advance anything concrete on this front. Ominously, we hear: “Parents and guardians have a limited consciousness of mobile phones”, and “They’re simply buying them mobiles”. Horror of horrors: “Many students are using mobiles in their breaks”.
I suppose the good legislators would prefer they use their breaks to sing a wholesome refrain of kimigayo.
PM Fukuda commented in a press conference: “It’s best to be worried over these reports of harmfulness”. He does not appear to have been referring to reports of the actions of politicians. Via Asahi.
I would think that Japanese school children have more to fear from the dubious lot attracted to teaching them, than any mere inanimate objects, though I suppose legislating against such would be politically unpalatable.
It seems that lately Japanese politicians have been unable to think of anything better to do than absurd protect the children style legislation, although the results have at least helped to pour ridicule upon them; witness the response to the clumsy attack on eroge, or the flabbergasted response from Internet companies upon hearing that they will be held responsible in the successful efforts to introduce mandatory censorship of the Internet for children.
Actually, this is not as outrageous as it sounds. Of course claims like “zomg they use their phones in school” and “christ, they send mails before going to bed” are ridiculous, but mobile phone addiction is an existing problem. I personally know a 13 year-old girl who actually gets anxious if she’s in a place where she needs to turn off her phone, and spends whole nights chatting, and my little brother tells me there are other kids like her in his school. I’ve heard of other similar cases, most recently in Spain. And psychological aspects aside, these kids are running up massive phone bills, spend fortunes (of their parents’ money) on new phones, etc.
Banning children outright from mobile phones is of course a rather extreme and stupid idea, but the problem exists and needs to be addressed in some way.
I’d have to say that exactly the same sort of things could have been said about myself in school, except with respect to the Internet, so I’m a little cautious about condemning them - I’d take instead the position that they represent a new form of social organisation, which seems immoderate to those not so adapted.
In my country (Malaysia), elementary to high schoolers are already prohibited from using mobile phone in school. The reason is similar too (minus “before they go to bed”) plus the phone can be distracting during the class session. But the use of mobile phones outside of school is allowed, to prevent crimes (child abducting etc) plus many of our phone booths damaged by vandalism