A family goes out on nice vacation up in the Poconos for a summer vacation. It’s time to kick back for a few days and forget what day it is. You and your family have been planning the trip for months. No cell phones, no computers, no work or school, just the peace and quite of good ol’ Mother Nature, except someone is apparently going through Internet withdrawals.
“Dude, it’s been 2 days and I’m gonna crash. I need just a little hit man. Come on please. Just 5 minute in a chat room? A little online game of Go? Please, I can’t handle it anymore. What do you mean you don’t have a laptop with you? Not even the PSP? I can’t handle this! I need my hit NOW!”
If it sounds a little strange, it probably should. Society has programs for all kinds of addictions. We’ve got, alcohol, various drug programs, even sex and food addictions. Now China has come up with the an addiction program for Internet addicts..
It’s China’s first licensed Internet addiction program. Internet usage continues to soar as China’s middle class gets bigger and the country continues its massive economic development.
And in case you’re wondering, based on the symptoms, this is a legitimate, full-blown addiction problem too. If one didn’t know better, one would think some of these symptoms were chemically induced.
“All the children here have left school because they are playing games or in chat rooms everyday,” says the clinic’s director, Dr. Tao Ran in an AP story. “They are suffering from depression, nervousness, fear and unwillingness to interact with others, panic and agitation. They also have sleep disorders, the shakes and numbness in their hands.”
About 2 dozen medical professionals attend to the people of various age groups with the addictions varying only in what specific type of computer activity they hook into. It could be chat rooms, trying to talk to the opposite sex or spending too much time hooked into a computer game.
Reporters were interviewing some of the patients and some of these children said they were lackadaisical in their schoolwork and ignored their teachers. Adults were saying it helped them escape the every day pressures of life and family. Waitaminute, this does sound like an addiction.
With China’s Internet usage estimate at 94 million or so and growing, this problem would only seem to get worse. As the crews try to integrate the Internet junkies back into some semblance of a normal life, for most folks it will be difficult.
John Stith is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business.
