China
According
to a 2006 study by the China National Children's
Center, at the end of 2006, China had 137 million
Internet users and of the users under 18, an estimated
13%-- or 2.3 million -- are Internet addicts.
Due to the rising number of Internet addicts in
the country, China has taken strict measures to
reduce the terrifying population of Internet addicts.
One of the measures is banning new internet cafes
from opening this year(2007). The notice, issued
by 14 government authorities, also vows to crack
down on gambling through online games. Xinhua said
the new restrictions were part of a campaign to
combat the rising problem of Internet addiction.
According to the country's Ministry of Information
Industry, there are currently about 113,000 internet
cafes and bars in China, China has already banned those under-aged from such
cafes, and poses heavy fines on operators who breach
these regulations.
China has also set up the Internet Addiction Treatment
Center (IATC) in Daxing county, the first treatment
center in the world dedicated in treating teenagers
suffering from Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD).
It uses a combination of psychotherapy and military
drills to treat the teenagers suffering from IAD.
Led by Tao Ran, a military researcher who built
his career by treating heroin addicts, the clinic
uses a tough-love approach that includes counseling,
military discipline, drugs, hypnosis and mild electric
shocks.
Success Stories:
He Fang, 22, is a college student from the western
region of Xinjiang. The business administration
major said his grades tanked when he started playing
online games several hours a night. The clinic "has
mainly helped me change the way I think," he
said. "It's not about getting away from pressure
but facing it and dealing with it."
Before Sun, a17-year-old, who is from the city
of Cangzhou, checked into the clinic about a month
ago, he said, he was sometimes online playing games
for 15 hours nonstop. "My life was not routine
-- day and night I was messed up," he said.
In December, he concluded that school just "wasn't
interesting" and stopped attending.
Since he's been there, Sun said, he's decided to
finish high school, attend college and then work
at a private company, perhaps becoming an "authority
figure" one day. With the help of a counselor,
he's mapped out a life plan from now until he's
84.
Giving
mild electric shocks to a patient in IATC
