Put The Mouse Down!; New Web Addiction Clinics Open Across China
In reaction to the rising number of Chinese youth addicted to the internet, many new centers have opened to help treat these addiction such as The Internet Addiction Treatment Center in China's Daxing county. Half boot-camp and half rehab center, the center uses military discipline coupled with therapy to help treat teens and their addictive cyber-surfing ways. Rehabilitation centers are not the only step China is taking to stop internet addiction, the Chinese government is also cracking down on violent video games as well as restricting the opening of new internet cafes.
Combining sympathy with discipline, a military-style boot camp near Beijing is at the front-line of China's battle against Internet addiction, a disorder afflicting millions of the nation's youth. The Internet Addiction Treatment Center (IATC) in Daxing county uses a blend of therapy and military drills to treat the children of China's nouveau riche addicted to online games, Internet pornography, cybersex and chats. "I gradually became obsessed," said Li Yanlin, a university student whose grades plunged after he became addicted to Internet games. But after several weeks at the Daxing facility, the 18-year-old said he "recognized the falseness of online gaming". Concerned by a number of high-profile Internet-related deaths and juvenile crime, the government is now taking steps to stem Internet addictions by banning new Internet cafes and mulling restrictions on violent computer games.
