Rich Fiscus
11 Mar 2007 17:36
According to a 2006 study by the China National Children's Center, there are around 2.3 million internet addicts in China. Chinese health authorities consider internet addiction to be as serious as alcoholism and drug addiction. The government blames the condition for juvenile crime, several suicides, and deaths caused by exhaustion because players were unable to tear themselves away from games. The Internet Addiction Treatment Center (IATC) near Beijing, which has had 1,500 patients since 2004, uses a combination of therapy and military style discipline and boasts a 70% success rate.
There is little agreement in Western countries about what constitutes internet addiction, or if such a thing actually exists. However, a Stanford University of Medicine telephone-based study found that one in eight Americans, exhibit one or more symptoms of "problematic internet use", which shares features with impulse control disorders.
In 2006, China experienced a 23.4 percent increase in internet users. Xu Leiting, a psychologist at the IATC said "The main cause of Internet addiction is that parents' expectations for their children are too high." He said "they escape to the virtual world to seek achievements, importance and satisfaction, or a sense of belonging."
The government is banning new internet cafes, and is also considering restrictions on violent games.
Sources:
Reuters
CNS Spectrums