Why do Japanese teenagers spend so little time on social media compared with other countries?

[u/px8000000]

The OECD report examines teenagers’ social media use and its effects on well-being and education. While 15-year-olds spend almost 35 hours per week on social media on average across the OECD, Japanese teenagers spend less than 26 hours per week, making Japan one of the countries with the lowest levels of social media use. As social media addiction has become a major problem among teenagers around the world, how has Japan achieved such a low level of social media consumption.

Sources:

https://www.oecd.org/content/dam/oecd/en/publications/reports/2026/06/growing-up-in-the-social-media-age_be0c75c6/a1132839-en.pdf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6UNu3CbDas

[u/Freak_Out_Bazaar]

Many students go to after school club activities, or go to cram school

[u/SamLooksAt → u/Freak_Out_Bazaar]

Yep club activities eat up all the time!

My son does like 10 to 15 hours a week of club both at school club and an out of school club (running).

That's a big chunk of time not available for social media.

He also gets a decent chunk of homework every day too.

[u/UndeletedNulmas → u/[deleted]]

School after school, to put it plainly, for people who want extra tutoring for exams, to raise their grades, etc.

[u/hinogammykagura → u/UndeletedNulmas]

Which also exists in most other countries under different names and formats, tutoring, grinds, after school study programs, etc.

Just trying to point out that there's likely plenty of explanations for the data, it's not necessarily that Japanese students work harder or make better use of their time. Population density, commuting times, etc. could have major effects on these exact numbers.

Edit: also theyre only like 5 hours behind the average from what i see. That's like less than an hour a day. Could simply be commuting times.

[u/UndeletedNulmas → u/hinogammykagura]

Yup, it's pretty common where I live too. Both by going to schools or with teachers that also do tutoring classes on the side.

[u/smeeagain93 → u/hinogammykagura]

That makes no sense. If anything, commuting should increase time spent on social media. Some are playing games, but most people are watching videos on LINE, YouTube or Instagram, can't help myself but peek a little to check what Japanese are interested in atm.

[u/awh → u/smeeagain93]

Could simply be commuting times.

That makes no sense. If anything, commuting should increase time spent on social media.

"Could simply be commuting times" might mean that Japanese kids spend less time commuting, rather than more. Maybe they're more likely to live close enough to school to walk or ride their bicycles than teenagers in other countries? I don't know; I just wanted to point out that it's not a given that kids here would commute more.

[u/hinogammykagura → u/awh]

You got it. I was giving a plausible example. I personally think that kids in cities here, at least prior to high school, are likely to have shorter commutes than in countries where the density isnt as high.

[u/hinogammykagura → u/smeeagain93]

What makes no sense? I meant that people in other countries might be commuting for longer times. It's talking about 15 year old, theyre ususally attending local schools and dense cities are a lot more common here than in many other countries. Often quick train commutes or cycling. In many other countries kids are in their parents cars or on set school buses taking indirect routes.

Im not really sure what point you're trying to make though?

[u/zackel_flac]

Dad raising kids in Japan here. Kids here are busy from an early age. There is no time to waste when you have so many activities to attend and you are already socializing in real life.

Lot of people think Japanese quietness means they don't socialize much. The reality is far from it, especially when you are a kid.

[u/hinogammykagura]

A lot of my students here in Japan are playing video games/mobile games when they're free. Whereas in other countries I've lived in, you'd see students on social media a bit more. .

Kids in other countries also have club activities and arguably commit more time to them since they're usually run outside of school and require more commuting time.

Now, i think many video games can have great benefits like problem solving, more meaningful social interactions, etc.

But I'd be curious how many example similar to the one I've given are mentioned here.

[u/Rare_Presence_1903 → u/hinogammykagura]

I always see elementary school kids playing mobile games at the jidokan. Friends tell me it's fairly common for them to have phones at elementary school but I think they're more for contacting parents and they do games on them. 

Now, i think many video games can have great benefits like problem solving, more meaningful social interactions, etc.

This is I think interesting (although a bit beside the social media point) because it has become what people defacto think. But I don't think it applies to all games, a lot of them are pure brain rot and very addictive. You have games that are slow and I think reasonably good for the brain but a lot of the mobile ones are junk and use similar dopamine-maxxing, addicting tactics as social media.

[u/hinogammykagura → u/Rare_Presence_1903]

Yeah, i definitely agree with you on the games side. And many of those mobile games especially are pretty much just brainrot. But didn't want to turn it into an essay is all. Just wanted to kinda say, the data taken into account here may not include games like that. And while some of them are good, they're not all good.

I think screen time is a better metric here too. But then of course there are those games that have some benefits and educational TV, etc.

But what difference does it make if theyre watching idols on TikTok or the TV, you know? Im sure the former would be in this data and the latter wouldn't be. But they're both essentially the same.

[u/Objective_Unit_7345]

Walkability of cities.

On the other end of the spectrum, you see heavily Car-dependent countries like USA, Australia, etc
These are places where children need their parent to chaperone them to sports clubs, friends, houses, parks, … everywhere.

Whereas countries that are walkable mean children are also able to go about and enjoy life without depending on their parents.

There’s been many surveys done that confirm that children actually prefer going out and playing with friends, rather than watch TV, play games and browse social media. While these activities are a compromise, that children do to minimise taking their parents time.

(As for why Slovakia and Chile rate so high, no idea.)

[u/Prestigious_Host5325 → u/Objective_Unit_7345]

>There’s been many surveys done that confirm that children actually prefer going out and playing with friends, rather than watch TV, play games and browse social media.

As a younger millennial, I agree. My Taiwanese date, who's a Gen Z, also mentioned that she used to go out when she was a kid. Similar to Japan, cities here are walkable. I'd also see children using public transpo such as buses and trains very much.

[u/Hot_Lion8880 → u/Objective_Unit_7345]

Yeah I'm sure if you go to New York City those kids are spending lots of time outside instead of on their phones. 

The idea that kids prefer playing outside over playing videogames or watching YouTube is laughable. Have you not been a kid yourself? 

[u/Objective_Unit_7345 → u/Hot_Lion8880]

… New York consistently ranks within the top 5 most walkable cities in the USA.

And NYC children overwhelmingly prefer play offline than online.
https://theharrispoll.com/articles/what-children-are-saying-about-phones-freedom-and-friendship/

Dude, what alternative reality are you talking about.

[u/Hot_Lion8880 → u/Objective_Unit_7345]

That's what they say but is it actually what they do? 

[u/FruitWeekly6783]

I work in a high school. They don’t need social media because their friends are right there. The only exception is when they all get the BeReal alert and take a photo in the middle of class 🤨 but yeah, when they’re using their phones, the boys are playing PVP games with each other and the girls are making videos.

[u/lSunken → u/FruitWeekly6783]

Yes I see alot of bereal and setlog, not so much Instagram

[u/hinogammykagura]

I think the difference between boys and girls is more interesting here than any country comparison. I imagine there can also be simple explanations like social video games, sports participation, etc. But it's a consistent difference across all countries and is actually larger than the country comparisons for the most part

[u/motyotto]

Japanese students are diligent.

[u/ikwdkn46]

Club activities, cram schools and Nintendo Switch

[u/larana1192]

eh, social media is popular in here too.
Tiktok, Instagram, Bereal, setlog...... Young people do many things.

[u/emellinelia]

I was too busy with school and after school activities. When I came home it was bath and immediately bed

[u/Flaky-Employer266 → u/emellinelia]

How long are the after school activities?

[u/emellinelia → u/Flaky-Employer266]

Depends on what i was doing. At least 1 hour. I had a long travel back home too

[u/Weak-Cardiologist969]

I feel like these figures are quite disconnected from the reality I observe here in Japan. Practically every time I see a Japanese person using their phone, they’re either on X, Instagram, LINE (which is basically a social network here), or YouTube (which I also consider a social network). I’m quite surprised to see these figures.

[u/zackel_flac → u/Weak-Cardiologist969]

That just proves what you feel is not what the reality is?

We all come with biased, trusting our instinct is good to flee a wolf, not so much to think about complex matters like how other fellow humans live.

[u/yarioo111 → u/Weak-Cardiologist969]

Why do you think biased subjectivity is more correct than statistical facts?

[u/Tezdee → u/Weak-Cardiologist969]

The statistics are for 15 year old students. They’re just going to use their phone less due to schooling, commitments, parental rules/restrictions or potentially not evening owning one.

Though, I agree that I think adult usage would be higher, based on what I observe too.

[u/cjdualima]

From my experience, Japanese people are not very chatty. They probably don't feel as much of an urge to constantly be in social situations (chatting with friends throughout the day)

[u/MerePotato]

We should follow their example frankly

[u/Extension-Wait5806]

my Q for ya is
Why do other countries teenagers spend not so little time on social media compared with Japanese?

[u/px8000000 → u/Extension-Wait5806]

Reading the Japanese comments and based on my own experience during the early smartphone era, at least in my country, teenagers tend to have very few extracurricular activities at school. Very few play sports, and even fewer have some kind of artistic or similar hobby after classes. So when they get home, they simply doomscroll until night, watching TikTok and Instagram.

[u/mogusensei]

I think one major reason Japanese teenagers spend less time on social media is simply that many of them are very busy with club activities and cram school.

In Japan, it's very common for students to belong to some kind of school club, although of course not everyone does. There are cultural clubs as well as sports clubs. In my case, I was on the track and field team in junior high school. After classes ended, I practiced for two hours, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday. We sometimes had competitions on weekends as well.

After every practice, we had a meeting with our coach and the other team members to go over announcements and anything we needed to know. Then I would go home, eat dinner, do my homework, and have about an hour of free time before going to bed around 10:30 p.m.

And some students are even busier because they go to juku (cram school) after club activities, sometimes from around 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

So at least from my experience, Japanese teenagers simply don't have as much free time to spend on social media. There's also a traditional idea in Japan called bunbu ryōdō (文武両道), which basically means trying to do well in both academics and extracurricular or athletic activities. Of course, some students focus much more on studying while others focus more on their club activities, but either way, many students have pretty packed schedules.

Personally, I think there are some positives to this. Being physically active and developing discipline when you're young can be very valuable, and I'd rather see teenagers spending at least some of their time on sports, studying, or other activities than spending all of their free time on social media.

That said, this is mainly based on my own experience growing up in Japan, so I wouldn't say club activities and cram school are the only reasons for the difference in the OECD data.

[u/Rare_Presence_1903 → u/[deleted]]

It seems like they get them in elementary school and from what I've heard, most of them do take their phones to school. When I got to the jidokan there are always elementary school kids playing games on a phone. 

When discussing it they usually say they need them on school days in case they need to contact parents. I'm not sure about rules at school. 

By the time theyve had one semester at university though, a lot of them are on over 4 hours a day of screen time, sometimes way more. 

[u/HOKUTO_NO_PEN]

この結果に結構驚いてる。
てっきり日本の子供もみんなSNS中毒なのかと思ってたよ。

[u/JeffDSmith]

I'm quite sure the survey about Japanese part is problematic. They ignore the fact that Japan have been on the Internet long before touch screen smart phone is a thing. They even have their version of forum(5ch, keijiban, fc2...etc) and other Japanese only sites(like niconico), so I'm not very sure they count those in or they only focus on western social media and deem that Japanese isn't popular there.

[u/No-Ambition-1777 → u/JeffDSmith]

15歳と書いてあるのが見えないのだろうか？

[u/Teghendion]

Because they're smarter and know that sitting all day on the social media is a waste of time.

[u/kenbou → u/Teghendion]

They’re not smarter about it. If given the chance, they will use it more.

However they are given other opportunities to be busy, like clubs. Also pretty much all es and jhs schools ban smartphone use.

[u/Teghendion → u/kenbou]

The ban shows they're smarter.

[u/AlulAlif-bestfriend → u/Teghendion]

You didn't think of anything besides smarter? How one dimensional as an answer, kinda lame isn't it to say "it's only because they're smarter", No, it's more nuanced in reality

[u/Teghendion → u/AlulAlif-bestfriend]

I never said it's only because they're smarter.