Chinese Killer Blames Video Game Addiction

Tue, Nov 11th 2008 12:27pm

Filed Under:
addicts, china, internet addiction

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China Says Six Hours A Day Online Makes You An Internet Addict

from the seems-a-bit-extreme dept

While there are some doctors who are pushing to make internet addiction an official disorder, most folks recognize that internet addiction has been shown not to be a clinical addiction, but rather a sign of problems elsewhere (depression, family problems, etc.). However, over in China, where folks have been treating internet addiction with shock therapy for years, it appears that the government is getting set to officially recognizes internet addiction as a disorder. However, the definition is raising some eyebrows, as apparently it's based on some "research" that says someone who spends more than six hours a day online is an addict.

Of course, it's worth pointing out that the Chinese doctor who set the definition that the government is expected to approve just so happens to have built China's very first internet addiction center. In other words, he stands to personally benefit quite a lot by having internet addiction made official, as it will drive "business" to his treatment center. It's difficult to see how you can claim that an addiction is based solely on the amount of time one spends online as well, considering that plenty of people have to spend that much time (or more) online for work, and others spend much more time online but don't have it negatively impact other areas of their life. Once again, this seems like an attempt to call something an addiction just because it helps get some doctors business, rather than a real attempt to look at the underlying issues of said "addicts."

Overhype

Tue, Mar 18th 2008 9:10am

Filed Under:
addiction, internet addiction, psychiatrists

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Some Psychiatrists Addicted To Prescribing Internet Addiction

from the must-be-good-for-business dept

Over the past few years, we've seen so many "calls" to label the use of certain technologies as "addictions" that we've noticed something of a... well... addiction by some to call for new technology addictions. Among the long, long list of possible addictions has been email addiction, web addiction, online porn addiction, video game addiction, internet addiction, and mobile phones or other gadget addictions. Almost every time, the call for addiction comes from a psychologist or psychiatrist trying to build up a reputation for treating such "addictions." It must be good for business (and perhaps a lot less harrowing than treating some other types of addictions).

So it shouldn't come as any surprise to see a psychiatrist now calling for internet addiction to become an officially classified addiction in the next version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (basically the official rulebook for such things). Of course, there are a few problems, including the fact that research has shown little evidence that the internet is really addictive, and almost every story of internet addiction really tends to be about deeper issues that resulted in someone seeking an outlet on the internet (from depression, bad family situations, alcoholism, etc.). Focusing on the "internet" part tends to have people trying to treat a symptom, not the disease. Hopefully, this new push will follow the same path as the one last year to have video games declared an addiction too. It didn't take long for that idea to get shot down.

Overhype

Mon, Nov 19th 2007 7:52am

Filed Under:
addiction, internet addiction, korea

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Korea's Internet Addiction Bootcamps Mistargeted

from the the-symptom-rather-than-the-disease dept

For years, we've pointed out how ridiculous it is for people to be blaming internet addictions for things, when almost every case of "internet addiction" that's demonstrated that the actual problem was something else, and the internet usage was just a way of "escaping" from those other problems. It didn't help that many of the big supporters of "internet addiction" happen to be the people (i.e., doctors) who are most likely to profit from such a thing existing. On top of that, reports have shown that so-called "internet addictions" tend not to be particularly harmful, and it makes you wonder what the big deal is. However, more recently, we're seeing some governments take the "threat" seriously. The NY Times is running an article about a "boot camp" in Korea to help cure kids of internet addiction, incorrectly suggesting it's the first such camp in the world. Earlier this year, we pointed out that China was opening a summer camp for internet addicts, which followed Chinese attempts to cure internet addiction with electric acupuncture, shock therapy and special halfway houses.

Still, as you read the NY Times piece about the Korean boot camp, you see that the folks running the camp are marking the same assumption: that it's the internet or computers to blame, and therefore, the solution must be to remove kids from the internet and computers entirely. This is fighting the symptom, not the disease. There's a reason why people started spending so much time online, and simply taking away access probably won't change that. The one kid that the article discusses in any detail started spending more time online because he wasn't very popular in school. Taking away the internet isn't going to fix that. There's no doubt that some people can spend way too much time at their computers, and it can potentially damage other parts of their lives -- but simply blaming the internet and pulling it away completely seems like a cure that's not likely to help very much. If the real problems that lead the person to spend so much time online aren't dealt with, then they will simply manifest themselves in some other manner soon enough. Calling something an internet addiction seems easy enough (and it's catchy, so it gets headlines), but if people are treating the internet part, rather than the real problems, it's not doing anyone any good.

Too Much Free Time

Thu, Sep 6th 2007 3:28am

Filed Under:
internet addiction

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If You Want To Stop Your Husband From Using The Internet, Chopping Off His Hand Seems A Little Extreme

from the next-time-maybe-pull-the-plug dept

We've certainly heard of family members growing frustrated over the amount of time a spouse or a child was spending on the internet, but you have to admit that it's on the fairly extreme side of the spectrum of responses to deal with this by chopping off the person's hand. However, according to some news reports, that's exactly what one woman in China did to her husband after she felt he wasn't paying enough attention to her. As he sat at the computer in an internet cafe she chopped off his hand. Oddly (and somewhat unbelievably) the guy claims he only noticed when the pointer on the screen stopped moving and he felt a numbness in his hand that had been on the mouse (and then he noticed the blood). It's not clear how he didn't notice his hand being chopped off -- or even how it was chopped off. So, perhaps the story is simply urban legend, but there appear to be a fair number of news organizations reporting that same story. We're hoping that at least one bothered to fact check to find out that it really happened.

Ramblings

by Carlo Longino

Wed, Aug 8th 2007 3:01am

Filed Under:
china, internet addiction, psychology