China had 169 million minor netizens in 2018 and the internet penetration rate was 93.7 percent, according to a report published on Tuesday.
The report was jointly published by the youth rights and interests protection department of the Communist Youth League of China Central Committee and the China Internet Network Information Center.
Minor netizens covered by the report are students at different levels under 18 years, but not including children under 6 years and non-student youths.
According to the report, 92 percent of minor netizens use mobile phones for internet access, and the percentages of minors using other devices for internet access are all less than 50 percent.
The report shows that 77.6 percent of minor netizens have their own internet access devices, and 69.7 percent have mobile phones. Data shows 52.2 percent connected to the internet less than one hour a day, and 24.2 percent between 1 and 2 hours.
Up to 87.4 percent use the internet for study, 68.1 percent listen to music and 64.2 percent play games for major leisure and recreational activities on the internet. Chatting online is the major communication activity for 58.9 percent, and 40.5 percent use short video apps, according to the report.
Meanwhile, 15.6 percent suffered cyber bullying and 30.3 percent encountered illegal or bad information, the report said. And 69.1 percent know how to protect their rights and interests through the internet and report infringements.
According to the report, 91.9 percent learn relative legal knowledge through offline means, and 72.3 percent learn legal knowledge through the internet.
The report suggests that the regulations on protecting minor netizens should be legislated as soon as possible. Authorities should enhance content supervision and industry management, regulating enterprises to shoulder social responsibly, promote education on the internet among minors and crack down on infringement.
