A survey conducted by Ikoyo Research Institute in May 2025 revealed the actual situation of children's online game use.More than 60% of middle school students and above use online gamesAnd even more surprisingly,Approximately 30% of children play games with friends they only met onlineIt turns out that. It was also found that one in four parents are not sure who their child is interacting with. The results of this survey have important implications for modern children's game use and parent-child communication. Why not check out the detailed survey results and use them as an opportunity to think about using games with your children?
Act Indy Co., Ltd. (Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Tadamichi Shimomoto; hereinafter referred to as Act Indy), which operates Japan's largest information site for going out with children, “Ikoyo'', is a problem-solving media for outing facilities and leisure facilities nationwide. https://research.iko-yo.net/ ), we conducted a survey and analyzed the actual state of children's game usage based on user questionnaires, and published the results. In[Children's Game Usage Survey ②]we will take a closer look at the use of online games.
*If you would like to publish or quote the contents of this survey in various media, please contact our public relations department ([email protected]) before publication, and include credit for the “Ikoyo Souken Research” and the URL of the article (https://research.iko-yo.net/solutions/research/12344.html) in the publication/quote destination.
▶One-third use online games, over 60% of middle school students and above
▶One in four parents do not know who they are playing online games with, and there are differences by age.
▶30% of online game partners and friends only connected online
▶Summary
(This release is made with some excerpts from the “Survey Report on Children’s Game Use ②”.The full text ishere)
1/3rd use online games, over 60% of middle school students and above
As the ways of enjoying games become more diverse, an increasing number of children are using online games to connect and play with others. When we asked children who play games about their online usage, we found that 33% play online games.
What if we look at it by age? For more information, please see “Survey Report on Children's Game Use ②”.
1 in 4 parents do not know who they are playing online games with, and the situation varies by age
Do parents of children who play online games know who their children are playing with?
The most common answer was 48%, who said they “mostly understand,” and 27% said they “knew everything.” On the other hand, 25% of the respondents said they “almost don't know,” meaning that approximately one in four parents have no idea who their child is interacting with.
This is a reference value because the number of answers for each age group for this question is small, but if you look at the understanding status by age group, the percentage of people who “understood everything” decreases as the age increases. On the other hand, 35% of people over the age of 13 answered that they “barely understand,” which is thought to be due to situations in which it is difficult for parents to keep an eye on their children, such as when children stay in their rooms.
30% of online game partners and friends only connected online
Then, we actually asked the children who they were playing online games with.
The most common answer was “friends from school or lessons that their parents know'' at 53%. This was followed by “Family/Relatives” (39%), with many households focusing on interaction with people close to them.
On the other hand, it is noteworthy that 32% of respondents said they met friends online, and approximately one in three people have connections made online. In addition to real-life friends, online relationships seem to be becoming more familiar to children.
summary
It was found that over 60% of children over junior high school age use online games. 40% of elementary school students use it, showing that online games are becoming popular among people of all ages.
Approximately one in four parents answered, “I have almost no idea who my child is playing online games with,'' and this trend seemed to increase as the child's age increased. In fact, 30% of children said they play with friends they met online, indicating that connections made solely through the Internet are now becoming the norm.
In the next[Children's Game Usage Survey ③]we will take a closer look at the concerns parents feel and the creation of rules at home based on these facts.
①“More than half of children use games “almost every day''! At what age do you start? ”
②“About 30% of children only play games with friends online…There are also differences in parents' understanding.”
③“Parents are constantly worried about their children's use of games…How can we deal with visual acuity, addiction, and fees?”
■Ikoyo questionnaire survey overview
Research method/Internet questionnaire
Survey area/nationwide
Survey target/“Ikoyo” members
Survey period: May 15th to May 21st, 2025
Number of samples/400 samples
Research analysis/Ikoyo Research Institute
*If you would like to publish or quote the contents of this survey in various media, please contact our public relations department ([email protected]) before publication, and include a credit to “Ikoyo Souken Research” and the URL of the article (https://research.iko-yo.net/solutions/research/12325.html).
■For the full text of “Survey Report on Children’s Game Use ②”here
■Related “Ikoyo Research Institute” article
■Overview of “Ikoyo Research Institute”
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We will disseminate research reports and analysis data on various interests and trends related to children and families, experiential activities, outing markets, etc.
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We investigated the state of the outing market by adding information from external services and user survey results to Ikoyo's access data. We analyze trends in the entire outing market from a comprehensive perspective.
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Ikoyo, an information site for going out with children, launched in December 2008, is used by about 80% of people raising children, and has posted information on over 98,000 facilities and over 75,000 reviews nationwide (as of May 2024). “Ikoyo'' provides information that will make family outings more enjoyable, and is run with the hope that outings will increase family communication and smiles on children's faces.
The app version of “Ikoyo” allows you to search for nearby destinations on a map based on your current location, as well as special coupons exclusive to “Ikoyo” app members, which are constantly being updated. Based on our unique review posting function, you can see at a glance recommended destinations by child's age, and we provide even more matching outing information than the web version.
【Company Profile】
Company name: Act Indy Co., Ltd.
Location: 2nd floor, TK Ikedayama Building, 5-22-33 Higashigotanda, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo
Representative Director: Takamichi Shimomoto
Established: June 2003
