They share their studies and their space. Reiwa Girls' alone time isn't really alone.

This third installment of Gyaru Lab's series explores how bridging the perception gap between Reiwa Girls and adults can offer insights for communicating with young women today.
This time, we focus on the changing ways girls use their time. Specifically, the "alone time" that was previously taken for granted—time spent alone, doing things alone—is increasingly becoming "shared time" due to smartphones and social media.

With the cooperation of Mynavi Teens, which supports teen-focused marketing and promotions for companies, we interviewed six high school girls. From these interviews, we discovered various forms of "alone time" that surpass adults' imagination.

Sharing Study Time

Until now, "studying" was something done alone outside of school or cram school lessons. Enduring solitude at a desk, facing textbooks and workbooks, focusing intensely and pushing through. Many people likely have memories of exam preparation like this. However, around 2016, a new SNS culture emerged: "study accounts" (commonly called "study gaku"), where people share their study time with others.

This culture originated in South Korea, a nation known for its intense exam culture. On Instagram, hashtags like "#studygram" (5.9 million hits) and "#勉強垢" (1.4 million hits) have spread among teenagers worldwide. Examples include accounts that post videos of their study desks surrounded by cute stationery, recorded for hours and then sped up, photos of timers showing total study hours (like a report saying "Look how hard I worked!"), or accounts specializing in sharing neat note-taking methods and unique ways to memorize dates or mathematical formulas.

So, how and why are these girls using study accounts?

To maintain study motivation and avoid loneliness

●I follow various study accounts on TikTok and Instagram, using hashtags like #studyaccount or #connectwithstudyaccounts to boost my own motivation.
●Honestly, whenever I feel down about studying or anything, I want to borrow strength from others. I absolutely hate feeling lonely. So I look at social media to think, "Let's do this, I'm not alone."

This way, they seem to skillfully manage their motivation using study accounts.

Seeing how others take beautiful notes and solve difficult problems

● Everyone's note-taking is so incredibly neat—I look at it quite a bit.
●If I just stick to my own preferences, it can be irreversible if they turn out wrong. So I incorporate other opinions and steal what I can.

Back in the day, copying notes from top-performing classmates was the norm. But now, it seems they're expanding their options by looking at notes and problem-solving methods from students all over Japan and the world, skillfully finding the style that suits them best.

Study apps that instantly solve "I don't understand"
During a conversation, I met a student who uses an app called "Kwanda" to solve problems they don't understand. Qanda is a Korean tutoring app that eliminates the need for a teacher—just snap a photo of a math problem you don't understand, and its AI provides the answer. It's not just about getting the correct answer like cheating; you can see explanations of the solution process. This means "I don't understand" gets resolved instantly, without needing to take time to ask questions at school or cram school. This way, they don't need to spend time struggling alone.

Many of them report that their grades improved after starting to use study accounts. While smartphones inevitably get checked constantly, they've brilliantly transformed that screen time into an opportunity for studying. To adults, it might look like they're just playing with their phones instead of studying, but they're actually "studying together." While studying with friends at the library has existed for ages, these social connections now allow them to study together without meeting in person, and even with friends worldwide.

Underlying this phenomenon are several factors: the desire to escape loneliness and the need for motivation and energy, the drive to find the best possible options for oneself, and a strong sense of time efficiency fueled by the mindset of "not wanting to waste time."

Sharing Sleep and Commute Time

There's also a peculiar culture of sharing sleep.

Sleep-along slots
Particularly seen on radio streaming apps, hosts gather listeners under the concept of "falling asleep together slots," chatting with viewers who join to talk until the host falls asleep. Sometimes, the host genuinely falls asleep mid-stream. In response, viewers enjoy the shared sleep time with comments like, "Host, you fell asleep," or "Your snoring is cute today too."

Furthermore, when talking to kids who regularly use video streaming apps like MixChannel or SHOWROOM, they shared some interesting ways they use them.

Broadcasting while commuting or in the bathroom

● They stream while walking from home to the station or during skincare routines, chatting casually.

When asked why they want to talk to someone even then, they say there are things they can't tell their best friends, but can tell their fans. By talking about their frustrations or what happened today during these spare moments, they might be relieving stress. It seems like there's another place here where they can share the "now" – not with real friends, not with family, not with an SNS community.

Sharing a place to be alone

Furthermore, they share their "safe spaces" for alone time. Zenly, a location-sharing app used by many high school girls. It ranked 5th in the "Things" category of the 2019 Teen Trend Ranking announced by Mynavi Teens. This app allows close friends to share their locations with each other. You can see if someone is at home, in Harajuku, or in Shibuya; how long they've been at a location; how fast they're walking right now; and even how much battery life is left on their phone.

So, how and why are they using this app?

No need to make plans to hang out

● If I see on Zenly that someone happens to be nearby, I'll just say, "Hey, wanna grab dinner now?" and invite them.
●Since they don't make plans in the first place, last-minute cancellations have decreased.

Surprisingly, they don't make "plans" at all. While the advent of mobile phones did change times by eliminating worries about not being able to meet and making firm meetups less common, it's astonishing that in the Reiwa era, they skip making plans to meet altogether. Instead, they check who's nearby and then decide who to hang out with.

Their closeness shines through

●It's fun to watch. You can see, like, "Oh, this guy and this girl are together right now~".

We've always had the phenomenon of guessing "those two must be together" based on the presence of a man in the background of an SNS photo or the posting time. But with this service, it becomes visible as fact.

The phenomenon of sharing where you are during solo time seems to stem from an efficiency-driven desire: the thought that making plans is a hassle, that you'd rather decide who to meet based on mood or spontaneity, so you'll just share your location. Even though users know this can reveal their relationships and invite prying eyes—despite being limited to close friends—the convenience of not having to ask "Where are you now?" and the benefit of avoiding missed opportunities like "We were close but didn't know, so we couldn't meet" seem to outweigh the risks.

The Hidden Dangers Behind Sharing Your Alone Time
 

However, sharing your alone time carries risks.
Doesn't the thought of your location when alone being revealed, or your daily movements becoming known, cause anxiety or fear? From the perspective of those not using the service, having your whereabouts or sounds while moving exposed to others is unpleasant, and many likely feel it's an invasion of privacy.

It's Safe Because I Use Different Accounts
Regarding SNS, many kids seem to feel secure because they separate their accounts—like ones for school friends, hobbies, fans, or promotion—and carefully choose where they share information about themselves.

Experiences with danger change awareness
However, some shared that they stopped using the service after an ex-boyfriend tracked their location and followed them. Others developed a habit of hiding their location after being mistaken for being with a boy, leading to suspicion of cheating from the other person's girlfriend.

Summary

~Why Reiwa Girls Share Their Alone Time~
❶ They don't want to waste time
→ If someone knows the right answer or a better way, it's a waste of time to struggle or search alone, so they want to be told. By opening up information, they want to increase their options and prevent missed opportunities.

❷ Want to maintain motivation even alone
→ I want to be inspired by the fact that I'm not the only one going through tough times; everyone else is pushing through too. Right now, I check my friends' location updates to see where they are at cram school, or find people studying at the same moment using hashtags to boost my motivation.

❸ I want to share my loneliness
→ When alone, I tend to dwell on negative thoughts, but sometimes I can only talk or seek advice in the world of live streaming. If people notice where I am right now, I can meet up with someone nearby and get a boost.

Girls have always disliked being alone. That's why they used to talk on the phone late into the night, linger after school, or have sleepovers. But with the evolution of smartphones and social media, they can stay connected even when alone, drastically reducing their "lonely" time. As the time they can be connected has accelerated, their true "alone time" might actually be decreasing.

Lately, digital ads targeting specific moments and scenes have increased, but how well can we imagine the girls on the other end of their smartphones? Going forward, even times we'd assume were solitary—like bath time, toilet breaks, or class—and even moments we'd never imagine them touching their phones, hold the potential for them to share that time with someone.

When planning services or promotions for Reiwa women going forward, we need to think more realistically about what kind of time we're aiming to be present in, and how we can effectively capture that time.

Next time, we focus on Reiwa women's "career awareness." What kind of careers and companies are they choosing? Don't miss it!

【Dentsu Inc. Gal Lab】