
By Wu Po-hsuan and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writerChildren and adolescents spend almost as much time on their devices as full-time workers spend at work, the latest Child Welfare League Foundation survey found, prompting the foundation to urge parents and teachers to set rules for cellphone usage, and teach children appropriate attitudes toward artificial intelligence (AI).請繼續往下閱讀...Of the respondents, 91.6 percent owned a mobile device, while the average age at which they received their first phone was 9.98 years, younger than 10.8 years two years ago, the survey on junior-high school students found.Adolescents spent an average of 38 hours per week on their phones or other personal devices, almost as much time as a full-time worker spends at work, the survey found.It also found that 53.5 percent of parents did not regulate their children’s smartphone use, while 32 percent of parents who did impose restrictions experienced conflicts with their children over usage time, schedules and the impact of smartphone use on school performance.Two-thirds of students, or 66.6 percent, said they had argued with their parents over smartphone use, mainly because of excessive screen time, disrupted daily routines or declining academic performance, the survey found.Of the junior-high school students who had registered on social media platforms, 42.4 percent used false ages, rendering age-based safeguards ineffective, it found.About 54.8 percent of adolescents said they had been verbally attacked or exposed to disturbing content on social media, but 77 percent opposed banning social media platforms, saying they were worried about being bored or losing contact with friends, the survey showed.The survey on mobile phone and Internet use among Taiwanese seventh to ninth-graders was conducted from April 27 to May 31, with 11,920 valid responses.Generative AI is useful, but also poses risks, foundation Policy Development Department deputy director Lee Hong-wen (李宏文) said.Of the 31.4 percent of respondents who reported problems related to AI, 15 percent had encountered AI-generated fake videos or audio recordings of classmates, 4.1 percent had been exposed to AI-generated violent or pornographic content and 2.5 percent had used AI to generate pornographic videos of classmates, Lee said.Only 31.8 percent of respondents could tell whether a photo was AI-generated, Lee added.Given that social media has become an integral part of young people’s lives, the foundation urged parents to delay giving children their first smartphone for as long as practical, and establish clear rules on smartphone and Internet use.It also advised parents to ensure minors use their real age when registering on social media and bolster their digital literacy to help protect them from online harm.New Taipei City Elementary and High School Parents’ Association head Yu Ting-tse (余定澤) said parents should express concern about their children’s cellphone use rather than berating them.Institute of Watch Internet Network deputy manager Liu Yu-chun (劉昱均) said children’s exposure to online risks had accelerated with the development of AI, which could be used to alter people’s faces, generate pornographic content and spread false information.Additional reporting by CNA新聞來源:TAIPEI TIMES
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