China’s New Dilemma: Youth Addiction to the Internet
In July, citing lack of evidence of safety or efficacy, China’s Ministry of Health issued an urgent “cease and desist” order for electric shock therapy administered to boys and girls at the request of panic-stricken parents looking for an end to the distraction that is causing their children to abandon schoolwork and normal social life in favor of online activities. What is interesting about the Ministry of Health’s decision is that it comes as a surprise to bewildered parents, who continue to bring their children to treatment centers and wonder what will replace the banned therapy. In fact, there are more than 300 treatment centers and special schools for “Internet addiction” in China today using various oral or injected pharmacotherapies, seclusion, and verbal threats as well as corporal punishment, often without the benefit of psychological counseling and sometimes even without proper facilities or qualified teachers. Yet, desperate parents pay the equivalent of several hundred U.S. dollars a month in the hope of putting their children back on track with their education.
All of this has resulted in fierce debates on the Internet. Teenagers who have undergone shock therapy tell of excruciating pain and sometimes burns in the treatment area (typically the forehead). They compare their harsh treatment to Auschwitz and express irreparable anger toward their parents. Psychologists are coming out to advocate that parents look toward improving communication with their children and providing better guidance as the path to recovery. A movie chronicling the rehabilitation of one such addict became an instant hit on the Internet, and the producer has urged parents to develop a better understanding of the reasons behind their children’s addiction before turning the problem over to these treatment centers.
Like all things in China, the scale of the problem is astonishing. The Chinese media estimate that of 160 million youths estimated to be Internet users in China, about 10 percent have some level of addiction. Psychologists and sociologists suggest that the three root causes are lack of a healthy family environment, a deficiency in the school system and a poor social culture.