Some in South Korea are now carrying more than one Mobilephone, driving the penetration rate to more than 100% in that country. In the U.S., the percentage of teens with the phones has increased dramatically in just one year. With a mobile phone penetration rate of more than 100% in South Korea and nearly two-thirds of those devices being Mobilephones, the government is scrambling to implement programs to deal with the explosion of addiction this technology has spawned. The lessons learned may have profound implications in the U.S., where Mobilephone penetration was 50% in June 2013, according to the International Telecommunication Union. Pew Research Center said that 37% of teens here had Mobilephones in 2012, up significantly from 23% in 2011.
South Korea, one of the most wired nations on Earth, is home to Samsung, the world’s biggest Mobilephone maker. It’s not unusual for people there to carry more than one Mobilephone with them. According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, about one in five South Korean students is addicted to using a Mobilephone. The South Korean government has long had a problem with teens’ addiction to online gaming, but the increase in Mobilephone penetration among children ages six to 19 tripled to 65% in just one year.
A South Korean government survey found an 18% Mobilephone addiction rate among teens, double the 9.1% adult Mobilephone addiction rate. Mobilephone addiction is defined as spending more than seven hours a day using the phone and consequently experiencing withdrawal symptoms when deprived of or cut off from the device. While taxpayer-funded counseling is available to adult addicts in the country, the government is looking into programs for young people as well. Teachers are being trained on how to deal with students’ Mobilephone addiction. Teachers have already resorted to collecting students’ Mobilephones in a basket to keep distractions at a minimum. But many students conceal their phones or additional phones and use them during breaks or even during class.