Children & Mobile Technology:
The Japanese Experience

Mobile Phone Use in Japan
In Japan, mobile phone penetration is 62% of the total population, which means about 80 million people have and use mobiles, and 60 million phone users have IP connectivity. Every year the number of phone owners increases. Looking at the age range 12-30 one finds mobile phone use amongst 21% of the 12-14 age group, 64% of the 15-17 age group, 92% of the 18-22 age group, and 86% amongst the 23-30 year olds. In the three younger age groups girls mobile phone use is marginally higher than boys – 28% in 12-14 group, 68% in the 15-17 group, and 95% in the 18-22 group.

Generations Trying To Adapt to New Media
High school students and younger are growing up with new media technology. They are a born digital network generation and thus the way they communicate with other people is very different to older generations. In the younger age group, 78% of the 10-20 year olds, and 72% of the 20-30 year olds, have the highest proportion of those mobile phone users who access the Internet via their phone. In the 50-60 age group, 21% only of mobile phone users access the Internet via their phone, despite the fact that 33% of this age group who could access the Internet via their phone do not. The older generations who are adapting to the new media face more difficulties

Typical use of the camera function:

• To send to their boyfriend, girlfriend or best friend they use facial image to express their feeling – eg ‘What do you think about my new hairstyle?’
• Personification – with pets or toys as a proxy for a message. You speak to Dolls and in return, dolls speak back to you.
• Exposure the current circumstances through one’s view – pictures can be taken and used to be ‘live’ reporting of your current situation, or example graphic icons can say ‘I’m stuck in traffic’, or ‘ I am having curry for dinner’, ‘I have arrived at school’ etc.
• Emotions and feelings live of expressions – for eg a picture of a front door can express the message ‘Oh my god! I forgot to bring a key and I am waiting outside’

Mobile Photo Messaging’s Characteristics:

• Live and instant expression eg Reporting what is happening to myself right here; The message is only meaningful to send now; Instant emotions and feelings
• Send a photo to a specific person eg a photo meaningful particularly to the receiver, sharing one’s experience with some special person.
• A photo can modify the meaning of the text - a rich combination of image and text.

Mobile video communication:
The latest phone provided by the new facility of mobile video communication. This enables sensational experience via mobile – Experiencing by mobile what other people are doing, People can experience their body movements such as walking, pointing etc, and also their personal of consciousness experience, following their mental process, seeing what takes their thought or curiosity. People can share this with others in a distant location or visualize teleconferencing via mobile. Perhaps uses for this includes remote consumer interview and survey, or live teaching in a classroom, remotely collaborated fieldwork, visual navigation and guidance etc. New applications for this technology will come up by the next generation.

Mobile Visual Communication and Children:
There are great possibilities for children with this new technology:

• The understanding of others support: eg Attention & interest to other person’s perspective; compassion with other person’s emotions and feelings; diminishing egocentric thought;
• Collaboration and Supporting remote assistance and: eg training, fieldwork, education; mobile network intelligence’ and cooperative problem solving.
• New culture and arts’ possibility: eg a new and rich way of expression and interpretation; even art can be facilitated by the phones; visual poem, diary.