China Treats Internet Addicts Sternly

[Sanslines]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17251571/

It appears that China has a serious problem with those who spend countless hours day after day on the internet and lose touch with the real world. What a shame that so many retreat from the real world into a self created world of illusion and fantasy!

[Sanslines]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17251571/

It appears that China has a serious problem with those who spend countless hours day after day on the internet and lose touch with the real world. What a shame that so many retreat from the real world into a self created world of illusion and fantasy!

[Fuzzy Nuts]

I hope they dont find tiger!!!

[DoctorSurferDude]

In the united states we define addiction as something that interferes and affects routine life. In other words if we chose to sit inside and write blogs about nudism instead of going outside and enjoying the sunshine....then we'd need help.

By China's standards.....we all need electric shocks

[Sanslines]

quote:

Originally posted by DoctorSurferDude:
In the united states we define addiction as something that interferes and affects routine life. In other words if we chose to sit inside and write blogs about nudism instead of going outside and enjoying the sunshine....then we'd need help.

By China's standards.....we all need electric shocks

Doc,

You are so right. Just take this forum as an example. A very few seem to come and spend hours each day submitting post after post. It really does make you wonder why some would do this as opposed to being out in the real world living a real life. Do these individuals even have a real life or do they use the internet solely as a means to create their own private fantasy world? Internet addiction is a very real problem and the consequences can be devistating.

[earthpassenger(Kevin)]

China is a rigid authoritarian country controlled by a single political party for many years.
I'm not so sure I'd want to be so quick to express admiration for their "internet addiction" policies.
Their government is just as likely using the problem as an excuse to suppress dissent.


To be sure, Internet addiction can be a serious problem for many people. But I don't see that much cause for a greater government role in preventing it--it's still predominantly a free speech concern.

Peace,
Kevin

[Unwired]

quote:

Originally posted by earthpassenger(Kevin):
China is a rigid authoritarian country controlled by a single political party for many years.

...

Their government is just as likely using the problem as an excuse to suppress dissent.

...

--it's still predominantly a free speech concern.

Kevin,

You are absolutely correct. While I'm sure the party leaders in China have at least a passing concern for Internet addiction as it pertains to worker productivity, the principal purpose behind all of China's Internet policy is to exert the tightest possible control over the dissemination and flow of information. Whether it's a prohibition on anonymous blogging, or forcing self-censorship of search engines, there's little reason to believe in the "best intentions" of the Chinese government when it comes to public access to the Internet. And the worst part? US-based companies are complicit in all of this so they can obtain access to the Chinese market.

http://irrepressible.info/



UW

[Sanslines]

quote:

To be sure, Internet addiction can be a serious problem for many people. But I don't see that much cause for a greater government role in preventing it--it's still predominantly a free speech concern.

More on China's Internet Addiction:

China's Internet Addiction
Laura Robertson
CBN News
January 24, 2007

With 137 million Internet users and counting, experts predict Chinese Internet users should outnumber their U.S. counterparts within the next few years.
Many have focused on China’s staggering economic growth of 10.5% last year, but the China’s Internet growth of 23.6% has been even more impressive. Considering that in 1998, less than ten years ago, China only had about a million online, the sheer volume and growth is extremely impressive.

But unfortunately, this growth doesn’t come without some unwanted side effects.

Internet addiction has become a problem for about 2 million of the 18.3 million young people online. One document from the Communist Youth League considered Internet addiction “a severe social problem that could threaten the nation’s future.”

According to one recent survey, Chinese Internet addicts are about ten years younger than their U.S. counterparts, with the bulk of them being males who are between 15 and 19.

Many of these guys are so preoccupied in his virtual world that they neglect responsibilities in real life. One 13-year old from northern China even jumped off of a 24-story building in order to meet his friends from the “friends” from his computer game.

Last year Beijing opened its first clinic to treat Internet addiction, and a few more cities have followed suit. While these centers have been moderately successful, they’re not enough for some government officials who have considered limiting the number of time people can spend playing online games to 3-5 hours daily.

China’s situation might seem pretty bad, but in fairness, Americans aren’t much better. According to the results of a new survey, 65% of those surveyed said they spent more time online than with their spouse.

It’s kind of ironic that although the Internet is supposed to connect people worldwide, it can also create new types of isolation if people simply retreat behind their computers.

But all things considered, from blogs to foreign newspapers, the Internet has done more to connect China and the international community than anything else I can think of. Despite Internet addictions, government censorship, and a host of other things, I hope China’s Internet growth continues to give citizens a refreshing voice that can connect them to the real world.

[Sanslines]

China's internet addiction: a friendly 'invasion' gone bad?

China is certainly among the principal players of the internet market; yet with recent contradictions and controversies regarding the country's usage of the Web, there is question as to where the industry is driving Chinese users - or more accurately, where they are allowing themselves to be taken.

On the one hand, the Chinese government commends information technology for contributing to China's modernization. Yet, on the other, the government views the internet as somewhat of a threat. As outlined in a previous bigmouthmedia article, the country's government briefly banned Google from its nation's network in 2002 - only to strike a compromise with the search engine company to implement web censorship in accordance with Chinese law. This was done to avert the possibility of 'too much information' being relayed to the Chinese people - information which holds the potential to nurture any future challenge the government style or leadership.

But, even with heavy censorship, China's 120-million user internet industry continues to boom; in fact, somewhat of an 'obsession' has been developing in the country for some time. Gau Tier Juan, Director of the Shanghai Internet Addiction Research Centre, stated that:

"Within the last ten years, China has become...the country with the most serious Internet addiction [and] it is becoming worse."

It has been estimated that one in eight users in China is psychologically dependent on the internet, but statistics also show that young people are the primary constituents of this pool, with over 13% currently addicted to the online world.

Authorities and institutions are taking action to address the growing problem. To help remedy student addiction, one university in China banned broadband in dormitories, while another even prohibited first-year students from bringing their laptops in.

Last year, an internet addiction clinic opened in Beijing, and there are currently shelters and community centres in Shanghai which offer short-term stay for people who would otherwise spend their nights in all-night internet cafes. Psychologists and social workers even regularly frequent internet cafes late at night in attempts to convince young people to go home. One 'Net patient' at the clinic in Beijing stated: "I can't leave the internet. I live in a virtual world. It's like my life...a kind of life that's made me lose confidence". Another patient recalled that, "I had no way to solve my problems, and no place to release myself, so I went online". There have even been suicide attempts made by serious addicts who were cut off from the internet. Yet, while the clinic in Beijing claims to cure eighty per cent of its patients, one day's treatment costs a quarter of the average Beijing monthly salary - meaning that not many are able to afford it.

While China came to embrace the internet much later than Western countries, internet usage today is unbelievably high in relation. In fact, China boasts the world's second largest internet industry behind the United States. Gau Tier Juan thinks that Asian cultural values play a significant role in this growth and newly formed addiction, stating that:

"In Western countries, the cultural background is generally more open and children are more independent. The relationship between parents and children, or between teachers and students is better [with] more respect towards human rights and individuality."

Mr Tier Juan believes that the country's addiction is fixed in poor social relationships.

While many countries in the world have experienced the friendly 'invasion' of the internet, China may soon have to put up its guard if it does not take control of this 'addiction.' Juan says that a solution lies in a number of steps; but that among these, it is imperative for parents to teach their children self-discipline and, above all, to provide a healthy atmosphere for personal growth and development.

[Sanslines]

China Opens Government-Run Clinic For Internet Addiction

Beijing facility reportedly uses acupuncture, electric shock.

By Stephen Totilo



If you live in Beijing, surfing the Web and playing online video games too much could land you in rehab.

In March the city became host to China's first government-run clinic dedicated to the treatment of Internet addiction, according to The Associated Press. Nearly two dozen nurses and doctors on the top floor of the Beijing Military Region Central Hospital administer to patients ages 14 to 24. Some patients come of their own volition; others are brought by their parents.

For as long as two weeks, patients undergo a full-day routine that can include recreation, therapy, acupuncture, 30-volt electric shocks to pressure points and what was described to the AP by one nurse as an intravenous drip intended to "adjust the unbalanced status of brain secretions."

At the Beijing clinic, the AP talked to a 20-year-old patient from Beijing who spent 10 hours a day playing hack-and-slash games. "I wasn't normal," he said. Another claimed to use his computer for 24-hour stretches, eating his meals at his keyboard.

News of the clinic comes less than a month after the widely reported case of Qiu Chengwei, a 41-year-old Shanghai man who received a suspended death sentence after murdering a friend following a dispute over a virtual sword earned in the game "Legend of Mir 3." The judgment provoked international headlines and discussion in the Chinese press about the effects of excessive online gaming. In the past few years, the nation's media has reported several instances of online-gaming-related addiction, delinquency and suicide. Similar stories have emerged from South Korea, one of the leading nations in online gaming.

Internet and online-gaming addiction isn't an affliction restricted to Asia. The Bradford, Pennsylvania-based Center for Online and Internet Addiction (NetAddiction.com) offers several counseling services for people hooked on such popular diversions as online gambling, Web auctions and cybersex.

More gaming-specific concerns are handled at Web sites such as "Help for Mmorpg addicts" (MmorpgAddictionHelp.blogspot.com), which tracks how and why online games become addictive, and Online Gamers Anonymous (P198.EZBoard.com/bOLGA), which offers a 12-step program and message-board community support.

Consistent in all these programs is the idea that addiction to the Internet and online games can be as destructive as a dependence on alcohol and gambling. "Compulsive gaming can be an addiction, and it can be very harmful to people and all parts of their lives, when it gets out of control," the OLGA site claims.

[Sanslines]

What is the definition of Internet Addiction?

Proposed diagnostic criteria:

A pattern of Internet use, leading to clinically significant impairment or distress as manifested by three (or more) of the following, occurring at any time in the same 12-month period:

Tolerance, as defined by either of the following:

A need for markedly increased amounts of time on Internet to achieve satisfaction.

Markedly diminished effect with continued use of the same amount of time on Internet.

Withdrawal, as manifested by either A or B below:

(A) the characteristic withdrawal syndrome, 1, 2 and 3 below
Cessation of (or reduction in) Internet use that has been heavy and prolonged.

Two (or more) of the following, developing within several days to a month after Criterion:

(a) psychomotor agitation
(b) anxiety
(c) obsessive thinking about what is happening on the Internet
(d) fantasies or dreams about the Internet
(e) voluntary or involuntary typing movements of the fingers

The symptoms in Criterion 2 cause distress or impairment in social, occupational or another important area of functioning
(B) Use of Internet or a similar on-line service is engaged in to relieve or avoid withdrawal symptoms.

Internet is often accessed more often or for longer periods of time than was intended.
There is a persistent desire or unsuccessful efforts to cut down or control Internet use.
A great deal of time is spent in activities related to Internet use (for example, buying Internet books, trying out new WWW browsers, researching Internet vendors, organizing files of downloaded materials).

Frequent talks about the Internet in daily life.

Important family, social, occupational, or recreational activities are given up or reduced in duration and/or frequency because of Internet use.

Internet use is continued despite knowledge of having a persistent or recurrent physical, family, social, occupational, or psychological problem that is likely to have been caused or exacerbated by Internet use (for example, sleep deprivation, marital difficulties, lateness for early morning appointments, neglect of occupational duties, or feelings of abandonment in significant others).

[Unwired]

quote:

Originally posted by Sanslines:
...it is imperative for parents to teach their children self-discipline and, above all, to provide a healthy atmosphere for personal growth and development.

Cool...but is that the government's job?

As for the article from CBN News (read: Pat Robertson)...here's a snippet from another news article from the same source that's a bit less sanguine and more objective about the subject matter:

quote:

CBN.com – BEIJING (AP) -- China's official Internet industry association is calling on its members to help the government suppress material deemed subversive or immoral.

"Unhealthy information" online has harmed Chinese children and threatens social stability, the Internet Society of China said in a statement. The 5-year-old group is the government-sanctioned association for Internet service providers and Chinese Web sites.

"We should run our business in a civilized way," said the statement issued Wednesday and reported by the government's Xinhua News Agency. "We should not produce, disseminate and spread information that harms state security, social stability and information that violates laws and regulations and social morality."

The group called for its 2,600 member companies to supervise content, delete "unhealthy" information and oppose acts that undermine "Internet civilization," Xinhua said.

I don't trust any government one bit to responsibly exercise the authority to determine what is "unhealthy information", whether it's a Communist regime or a paternalistic, authoritarian wannabe theocracy here-where such trivialities such as "freedom of speech" and "dissent" are expendable in the name of the "protecting the public".



UW

[usmc1]

This probably explains why we seem not to have any Chinese contributors.

[hm0504]

quote:

Originally posted by usmc1:
This probably explains why we seem not to have any Chinese contributors.

We've had the occasional one but they seem to not stay long.

[usmc1]

quote:

Originally posted by hm0504:

quote:

Originally posted by usmc1:
This probably explains why we seem not to have any Chinese contributors.

We've had the occasional one but they seem to not stay long.

Here's a factoid that has virtually little to nothing to do with anything.

The derogatory expression in China for a female smoothy is "White Tiger". No, I do not know if it applies to males or not.