Illustration: Zhang Fangman; Data source: "The 5th National Survey Report on Internet Use among Minors"

At present, internet use among minors in China has become a widespread phenomenon, and the internet has been fully integrated into minors' study and life. What are the characteristics of minors' internet use, how can multiple parties be mobilized to improve regulation, and how can minors' internet literacy be enhanced? To weave a tight and dense protective net, the government, schools, families, and all sectors of society need to work together.

Today, the internet has been fully integrated into minors' study and life, and the evolution of internet technology is exerting a profound impact on the growth of minors.

The Department for Maintaining Youth Rights and Interests of the Communist Youth League Central Committee and the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) recently jointly released "The 5th National Survey Report on Internet Use among Minors" (hereinafter referred to as the "Report"). What are the characteristics of minors' internet penetration, online use, cybersecurity and rights protection, and how can their healthy growth be better safeguarded? The reporter conducted interviews.

　　Scale of minor internet users continues to expand

Trend of younger internet use is pronounced; digitalization of education is accelerating

As internet infrastructure becomes increasingly complete, the prices of mobile internet devices and data tariffs continue to decline, and various internet services are developing rapidly, the scale of minor internet users has continued to expand. According to the Report, from 2018 to 2022, the number of minor internet users in China grew from 169 million to 193 million, and the internet penetration rate among minors rose from 93.7% to 97.2%, basically reaching saturation. The internet penetration rate among urban minors reached 97.5%, while that among rural minors was 96.5%, and the gap in internet penetration between urban and rural minors has continued to narrow.

"Over the past few years, the internet penetration rate among minors in China has further increased. At present, except for primary school, the internet penetration rate in all school-age groups has reached 99%, and internet penetration among minors has reached a new level," said Zhang Xiao, deputy director of CNNIC. She noted that the trend of younger internet use among minors is currently pronounced, with more than one-third of primary school students using the internet for the first time before starting school. "This figure deserves attention."

The report shows that the proportion of minors owning internet devices has continued to rise, showing a new trend of diversification, portability, and intelligence over the past two years. Mobile phones have always been the primary internet device for minors, with a usage rate of 91.3%; nearly 90% of minor internet users have their own internet devices, of whom more than 60% have their own mobile phones; new smart devices such as smart watches, smart desk lamps, and dictionary pens also have relatively high usage rates among minors and are maintaining growth.

The digitalization of education in China is accelerating, and an increasing number of minors are actively embracing digital, information-based, and intelligent learning methods, using the internet more extensively and independently for learning activities. According to the report, 88.7% of minor internet users frequently use the internet for learning; the proportion who believe the internet has a positive impact on their learning rose from 53% in 2018 to 77.4% in 2022.

Zhang Shuang, dean of the School of Education at Capital Normal University, suggested that in the future, the supply of high-quality educational content should be increased, the refined management of supply methods should be further improved, and high-quality learning plans should be provided for students.

　　Multiple parties participate to strengthen positive content guidance

Address the problem of excessive internet use and improve regulation of video applications

The internet has become an important platform for the vast number of minors to understand the world, learn knowledge, enjoy leisure and entertainment, and communicate and interact. However, while the internet facilitates and enriches minors' study and life, minors also face multiple risks such as infringement by illegal and harmful information and internet addiction.

Over the past few years, China's management system for minors' online entertainment behavior has become increasingly complete, and regulation of improper internet use has become increasingly strict. The Regulations on the Protection of Minors on the Internet (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations"), which officially took effect on January 1 this year, is China's first specialized comprehensive legislation on the protection of minors on the internet and sets out specific provisions on the prevention and control of internet addiction.

"The Regulations make clear that providers of internet products and services shall establish and improve anti-addiction mechanisms and shall not provide minors with products and services that induce addiction," said Yuan Zhijie, a professor at the Law School of Beijing Normal University.

It is worth noting that as management has become stricter, some minors use their parents' accounts to play games, thereby circumventing limits on gaming time. According to the Report, among minors who play online games, 32.0% use their parents' accounts to play games; 39.1% of parents said they would let their children use their own accounts to play games.

"The key to solving the problem lies in strictly implementing the real-name system for online identities," said Yuan Ningning, deputy director of the Minors' Affairs Governance and Legal Research Base at China University of Political Science and Law. She believes that platforms should ensure that minors log in using their real identity information and provide targeted anti-addiction measures based on usage scenarios.

In the view of Sun Hongyan, director of the Children's Research Institute of the China Youth and Children Research Center, guiding parents to set an example for their children and improve their management capabilities is crucial for preventing minors from becoming addicted to the internet. "Training to strengthen parents' internet use capabilities should be enhanced. Through community training, parent schools, and other forms, parents should be equipped with the skills to correctly manage minors' internet use."

Today, short video applications are widely popular among minors. According to the Report, the scale of short video users has grown significantly, making short videos an important channel for minors to obtain information. The proportion of minor internet users who frequently watch short videos rose from 40.5% in 2018 to 54.1% in 2022, and the number of minor users also exceeded 100 million. At the same time, possible problems such as excessive use, information cocoons, and harmful inducement cannot be ignored.

In this regard, the Report recommends improving regulation of video applications and strengthening positive content guidance. First, promote the formation of a sound competition mechanism in the short video industry and continuously improve problems such as lax review and gatekeeping, unscientific recommendation algorithms, and unreasonable traffic allocation mechanisms on some platforms. Second, continue to promote the popularization of the minor mode and work toward establishing content pool standards for minors as soon as possible. Third, all sectors of society should work together to promote improvement in the quality of short video content.

　　Promote the enhancement of minors' internet literacy

Strengthen internet law popularization, law enforcement, and safety education, and weave a tight and dense protective net

At present, China has established a multi-level and multi-dimensional system of laws and regulations, including the Cybersecurity Law, the Law on the Protection of Minors, the Regulations on the Protection of Minors on the Internet, and the Provisions on the Cyber Protection of Children's Personal Information, giving priority protection to the lawful rights and interests of minors in cyberspace. The government, schools, families, and society and other parties are working together to weave a tight and dense protective net for minors.

The Report shows that the protection of minors on the internet has continued to strengthen, and the cybersecurity environment has markedly improved. 87.1% of minor internet users have some understanding of at least one law or policy related to minors' internet use.

As the Regulations have been implemented, localities and departments have gone into communities and schools to popularize relevant knowledge. At the Citizen Activity Center in Haidian District, Beijing, staff carried out legal education for residents and reminded parents to strengthen their responsibility for guardians' internet literacy education; cyberspace administration departments in Nankai District and Hebei District of Tianjin, among others, worked with minors' procuratorial offices to move legal education platforms from "offline" to "online"; the education commission of Fengdu County, Chongqing, organized an excellent lesson case selection activity on "Prevention and Correction of Internet Addiction"... These distinctive publicity activities in various places provide useful guidance for the healthy growth of minors in cyberspace.

Cultivating minors' internet literacy is an important part of building an internet civilization and an important cornerstone of strengthening the protection of minors on the internet. The "Medium- and Long-Term Youth Development Plan (2016-2025)" and the "Opinions on Strengthening the Building of Internet Civilization" all set clear requirements for enhancing young people's internet literacy.

"The foundation of cultivating minors' internet literacy is respecting and safeguarding minors' right to development and participation in the digital age," said Tong Lihua, director of the Beijing Children's Legal Aid and Research Center. She believes it is necessary to cultivate their ability to adapt to the internet environment, participate in internet development, and apply internet technology.

"We should build and improve a tiered internet literacy framework and conduct internet literacy education according to children's different ages and cognitive and psychological characteristics," suggested Fang Zengquan, director of the Research Center for Minors' Internet Literacy at the School of Journalism and Communication of Beijing Normal University. He suggested giving play to schools' role as the main front for internet literacy education, carrying out internet literacy education courses, and at the same time strengthening internet literacy training for teachers.

Yue Wei, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and director of the Department for Maintaining Youth Rights and Interests of the Communist Youth League Central Committee, introduced that in recent years the Communist Youth League Central Committee has worked with relevant units to produce and release a series of "12355 Internet Literacy Open Classes," integrating them into League class and Young Pioneer class education to continuously enhance minors' internet literacy.

To promote the enhancement of minors' internet literacy, various internet platforms should actively fulfill their social responsibilities. "Relevant enterprises, especially platform enterprises with a huge number of minor users or a significant influence on minors, should incorporate the protection of minors' rights and interests into their corporate development strategies and improve the level of protection work for minors on the internet," said Tong Lihua.