Tokyo—“Your name has been exposed.”An 18-year-old high-school student in Tokyo went pale as he read this text message from a friend around midnight on February 27. Turning on his computer, he found his name all over the Internet, identified as the person who had posted questions from the entrance exam for Kyoto University on an online question-and-answer site.
A third-year student at an elite high school, the youth had applied to enter the prestigious university. On February 26 he learned that someone had posted exam questions on the Yahoo Japan Chiebukuro (pearls of wisdom) web site and “half in anger, half in ridicule,” he said, changed his account name on the social-networking site to aicezuki, the handle used by the person who leaked the questions.
Just two hours later, he switched his account name back. But during that short period of time, such information as the name of his school, his date of birth and even a photo from his primary school days had spread around the Internet.
The Tokyo student was cleared of any wrongdoing with the arrest of a 19-year-old test-preparation school student in Sendai for alleged obstruction of business by fraudulent means. However, the information that ran on the Internet will never disappear.
“I just changed the [account] name half in fun,” he said in a faint voice.
The recent scandal over the posting of the exam questions has highlighted another problem—young people’s lack of morals regarding the Internet and the need to provide them with guidance on the dangers in using it.
Both before and after the discovery that exam questions had been leaked, there were a number of high-profile cases in which young people made apparently thoughtless postings.
“I correct my answers by looking at the answers of the person [sitting] next to me....Perfect.”
This was posted by an 18-year-old student in the Kanto region on the “purofu” self-introduction site, a day before the Kyoto University case came to light.
Seen as a confession of cheating, it caused an enormous fuss as the Kyoto University case attracted public attention. Ordered to explain by school officials, the student reportedly said, “I lied out of the euphoria of my tests being over.”
The student received a warning from his principal. These young people have been called the digital-native generation, familiar with Internet technology since they were young children.
“They’re adept at using the Internet, but they aren’t aware that it’s open to the entire world,” said a 48-year-old teacher at a public high school in Tokyo.
Despite repeated warnings, students continue to post personal information on the purofu site, including photos, names and school names. After one student reportedly included such details as the schedule and location of the student’s school club activities on the purofu site, the student’s school uniform and bag were stolen.
The risks associated with using the Internet can also be seen in the widespread copying and pasting of information online.
Earlier this month, a 22-year-old university student in the Kansai region confessed on the purofu site that she copied a thesis from the Internet. An Internet uproar ensued, and the student was reprimanded by the university.
Last year at least five award winners in poem and essay contests for middle and high-school students were stripped of their awards because of Internet plagiarism.
“Copying and pasting is plagiarism, but kids don’t realize that,” said a teacher in his 50s at a private high school in Tokyo.
An “information study” curriculum was introduced in high schools in 2003 to teach morals in a society in which the Internet has become an essential tool in daily life. However, some school officials and teachers apparently have prioritized test-preparation studies. “Misguided competition on university entrance exams has exposed children to the dangers of Internet society,” the teacher said.
(The Yomiuri Shimbun)
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