Over 90 percent Chinese minors access Internet: survey

BEIJING, March 28 (Xinhua) -- About 169 million minors in China, or 93.7 percent of all Chinese minors, had access to the Internet as of July 31, 2018, according to a survey reported by People's Daily Thursday.

The survey, conducted jointly by the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China and China Internet Network Information Center, covered 31,158 primary and middle school students across the country aged between six and 18.

Among the interviewees living in urban areas, 95.1 percent have access to the Internet, while the percentage in rural areas was 89.7.

When going online, about 87.4 percent of the respondents engage in learning activities, while 68.1 percent and 64.2 percent listen to music and play games, respectively.

The report also noted while 76.4 percent of respondents spend less than two hours online on average everyday, about 13.2 percent stay online for more than three hours per day.

In terms of web devices, 92 percent of the respondents said they go online on cellphones, the most popular option.

Meanwhile, nearly 16 percent claimed they had experienced cyber-bullying or cyber-harassment, while more than 30 percent said they had been exposed to harmful online content related to violence, pornography, gambling and drugs.

The report called for enhanced cyberspace regulation to better protect the minors' rights online, and urged relevant departments as well as Internet companies to work out measures to ensure young netizens were safe, and prevent Internet addiction.