Beijing Clinic Treats So-Called Teenaged Internet Addicts -- With Shock Therapy

from the seems-a-bit-extreme dept

theodp writes "At the Beijing Military Region Central Hospital, teenagers diagnosed as Internet addicts are treated to 30-volt charges to pressure points, mysterious intravenous drips said to "adjust the unbalanced status of brain secretions," and acupuncture. They usually stay 10 to 15 days at China's first officially licensed clinic for Internet addiction. At $48 a day, the treatments carry a high price in China, where the average city dweller's weekly income is just $20." We've covered how people absolutely love to call various things "addictions" when there's little actual evidence of addiction. Again, this looks like yet another story making the "risk" seem much worse than it is (while hyping up a few psychologists who make money off trying to cure such "addicts.") Still, it seems like treating "internet addiction" is treating a symptom, not the real problem for those who really have withdrawn so much that they can't live without their connection. It's likely that it's indicative of something more serious than the fact that they like to have internet access.

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