Tangled in the web: fear of missing out driving net addiction in Japan
Health concerns grow as a fear of missing out means school girls in Japan are spending an average of seven hours a day on mobile phones
For Japanese teenager Sumire, chatting with friends while she sits in the bath or even on the toilet is nothing out of the ordinary.
An ever-present smartphone means she, like much of her generation, is plugged in 24-7 - to the growing concern of the country's health professionals.
"I'm online from the moment I wake up until I go to sleep, whenever I have time - even in class," said the 18-year-old, who gave only her first name.
"I'm always messaging friends on 'Line', even when I'm in the bath. I guess I feel lonely if I'm not online, sort of disconnected," she said, referring to the chat app 'Line' that is used by about 90 per cent of high school students in Japan, according to a recent survey.
While Sumire acknowledges she probably uses her iPhone too much, she is far from alone in a country where young people are frequently glued to a screen.
High school girls in Japan spend an average of seven hours a day on their mobile phones, a survey by information security firm Digital Arts revealed this week, with nearly 10 per cent of them putting in at least 15 hours. Boys of the same age average just over four hours mobile phone use a day, the research found.
