Japanese city bars kids from using cellphones after 9pm

0
265

March 27, 2014

TOKYO: In an unusual move to curb smartphone addiction in kids, a Japanese city is banning schoolchildren from using cellphones after 9 pm. The ban, however, will not be binding and whether to follow the rule will be left to each family.

City Introduces Smartphone Ban For School Children After 9pm

March 27, 2014

TOKYO: In an unusual move to curb smartphone addiction in kids, a Japanese city is banning schoolchildren from using cellphones after 9 pm. The ban, however, will not be binding and whether to follow the rule will be left to each family.

City Introduces Smartphone Ban For School Children After 9pm

Starting from April, 13,000 students in elementary and junior high schools in Kariya, Aichi Prefecture, will have to hand their cellphones over to their parents at 9pm each evening. "We will start this (rule) to give children a reason (to get away from cellphones)," Karigane Junior High School principal Fushitoshi Ohashi told 'The Japan Times'.

According to Ohashi, some parents have said the rule will make it easier for them to tell their children to stop playing games on their phones, which can last late into the night. However, the rule will not be binding and there will be no punishment for students who do not follow it, Ohashi said.

Kariya has about 13,000 elementary and junior high school students and a survey conducted in November last year showed that 58.2 per cent of junior high school students have cellphones.


Courtesy: IANS