More than 20 percent of junior high and high school students who do not have a fixed-line phone at home have never used one, according to an internet survey compiled by MMDLabo's research center.
The survey found that 23.8 percent of these young people have never used a landline, underlining teenagers' dependency on cellphones and smartphones.
The survey on electronic devices was conducted between Feb. 1 and Feb. 10 and drew valid responses from 1,104 male and female students aged 12 to 18.
Slightly more than 74 percent of the respondents have a landline phone at home, compared with 57.1 percent who have laptop computers and 43.2 percent who have desktop computers.
Texting via the highly popular Line app is the most common way these teenagers communicate electronically with their parents or guardians, and is favored by 84.6 percent of teens. But 57.3 percent of them also use Line's voice service to speak with their parents.
With the rise of smartphones also comes an element of isolationism. The survey found that 85.8 percent of the respondents said they use their smartphones when alone in their room and 63.0 percent said they use it while they are with family, with a majority of them putting more priority on what they are doing with their phone over engaging in conversation with their family.