Nearly 94 percent of Chinese juveniles - children under age 18 - had access to the internet as of July, while more than 30 percent of them had been exposed to information concerning gambling and drug abuse, a report by the China Communist Youth League and China Internet Network Information Center said on Tuesday.
The report was based on surveys carried out in elementary, junior and senior high schools and vocational schools in 31 provinces including Beijing, Shanghai and Zhejiang province. More than 31,000 students were included in the survey.
The report said students in junior high school represent the largest group of juveniles surfing the internet - with internet popularity reaching as high as 99.4 percent - trailed slightly by students in vocational schools, at 99 percent.
For the purposes of internet surfing, 87.4 percent of teens use the net for study, 68.1 percent for music and 64.2 percent for games.
Phones, according to the report, remain the major tool used for online activity - 92 percent - along with net-access televisions (46.7 percent) and tablets (37.4 percent).
However, online protection for juveniles is still not strong enough, it said.
According to the report, 15.6 percent of teenagers using the internet said they had experienced cyberbullying, such as malicious harassment. But only 15 percent of those teens who had been attacked online received legal or psychological counseling.
Xu Bingchao, a 17-year-old student from Shanghai who used to share his life on Weibo, said he is upset about his Weibo fans.
"I didn't have many followers - only about 2,000 - but I am usually hurt by their words. I feel they don't like me, but give vent to their bad emotions over my micro blogging posts," he said. "Maybe some of my traveling or luxury items posted on Weibo enraged them."
Xu said he felt helpless and wrote off his account last month. "I have no idea where I should turn for help. My parents said it was OK, but I still felt depressed."
Liu Ling, the mother of a 12-year-old, said she was troubled by some violent information her son received when using her phone for games.
"To control his time online, I didn't buy him a phone, and I only allow him to play games on the computer after he has finished his homework," she said. "However, he learned to say some bad words through games and feels cool about saying them."
To help protect teens from cyberbullying and negative content, the All-China Youth Federation submitted proposals during the National People's Congress in early March urging legislative bodies to issue regulations to protect teens online.
The federation also said the government should set up a real-name authentication system for juvenile game players to regulate their time online. Educational and psychological consultation services should also be available to teenagers, especially web addicts, it said.
