S Korea grappling with smartphone addiction; smartphone penetration rate in South Korea was 64 per cent in 2012, a 60-fold-leap compared with 2009, when smartphone users accounted for less than one per cent of all mobile phone users

S Korea grappling with smartphone addiction
By Lim Yun Suk | Posted: 26 February 2013 1613 hrs

SEOUL: South Korea has more than 30 million mobile phone users. The devices have become a vital part of everyday life in the country.

But owning mobile phones also come with disadvantages. Children and adults cannot seem to get their hands off these devices.

Korean doctors are calling it an addiction.

“After church sometimes I want to play with my friends outside but all they want to do is play games on their mobiles. It’s no fun anymore,” said Han Ji Min, an elementary school student.

College student Chung Seung Yeon said: “I have many friends who use their handphones even while eating. And they do it like there’s nothing wrong with it. Because it has become so common, nobody thinks it’s serious to be using their handphones while eating.”Doctors are voicing their concerns with smartphone addiction.

Shin Dong Won, a doctor at Sunkyunkwan Hospital said: “Smartphone addiction has now become like any other addiction. Some have even said it’s like holding drugs in your hands. And personally, I think so too.”

In a report last year, the government said that about 2.6 million people were addicted to smartphones – and these were people who used the devices for more than eight hours a day.

Students say when they use their smartphones to play games, they use their phones for at least one hour each time.

Experts say it is important to educate children about smartphone usage.

Lee Chang Joon, official at Korea Telecom, said: “Many times, they are forced to stop using them. But if we teach the children the proper method of using them, then I think it will be easier for the children to understand.”

Meanwhile, smartphone maker Samsung Electronics recently announced its best-ever earnings for 2012.

Competition in the smartphone market will be keen this year, with more models available for consumers.

Song Jong Ho, analyst at KDB Daewoo Securities, said: “There will be more competition in the smartphone industry. Apart from the existing ones like Apple, there are others like Google which we must see as a competitor too. I think the low-cost ones like China’s Lenovo will also try to compete with us.”

The smartphone penetration rate in South Korea was 64 per cent in 2012, more than double from the previous year.

It is a 60-fold-leap compared with 2009, when smartphone users accounted for less than one per cent of all mobile phone users.

Experts say it is important that the government comes up with measures to help the addicted users – especially among the children.