China launches detox ... Net -

The Chinese government has launched a campaign to combat Internet addiction among young Chinese. This small-scale campaign aims to show the measures that need to be applied and the goals to be achieved in the future.

According to China Daily, the current Internet addiction phenomenon of Chinese youth has become a serious social problem, it can even threaten the future of the nation. The report of the Central Committee of China Youth announced last December proved to be quite worried by the situation that 14% of Chinese teenagers were addicted to the Internet, and considered it a big problem in the commune. Assembly

Besides emphasizing the phenomenon of increasing the number of Internet users (with 123 million users), China has become the second largest netizens in the world after the United States. According to the report, 15% of internet users are under the age of 18. And every 18.3 million Internet users have 2 million who suffer from 'illness' that lives in the 'virtual world' .

The Washington Post reported that in the campaign against this "dangerous disease", the Chinese government has built 8 'detox centers' across the country and praised some Chinese provinces for successfully fighting drugs and alcohol effectively. Success is noteworthy, however, it is still criticized for its sometimes aggressive measures.

An Internet Cafe in China.Source: digitalbattle.com

The US daily also added that China is now focusing on the 'war' against hallucination, which according to the media is the source of the murders and suicides. In mass, the decline in learning causes only because of 'not escaping' battles in the virtual world.

If some other countries, such as South Korea, Thailand or Vietnam have taken measures to limit access time at public access points, China also applies strict measures. more. The government has launched a large-scale program to limit Internet access, censor some websites, and prevent reactionary information on the Internet. Some foreign companies that provide online services, including Google, are also required to abide by the rules that the country has made.

Some journalists from Washington Post visited the longest and most well-built 'detox' center on the outskirts of Beijing, saying that on average each day, the center has to take care of about 60 patients, with the period of this number reached a peak of 280 people.

Very few patients from 12 to 24 years old come to the center voluntarily, most of them are forced by their families but the amount of treatment is not small - 1300 USD per month (equivalent to 10 times the average salary). monthly in China). Built on the basis of an army training facility, the center is easily recognized by iron bars, each door is locked carefully, windows must be carefully guarded.

Talking to China Daily, Tao Ran, the director who is also the founder of the center, said that among the 400 patients who left the center, 80% of them had completely cured. According to the Washington Post, Tao Ran is a researcher in the army and is also a veteran of the treatment of drug addicts. To treat these special patients, he had to combine many methods: admonition, military discipline, pharmaceutical use, hypnosis, even mild electric shock.

While there is much debate over the application of these measures, according to Guo Tiejun, a psychologist at the Shanghai Center for Internet Dependence Research Center, the center's approval military discipline is a far cry from treating drug addicts or alcoholics. According to him, the real problem that young patients face is loneliness. He specifically condemned the use of antidepressants, sedatives, oral medications, injections. Because according to him these things can only disappear the symptoms outside but can not solve the cause of the disease.

Minh Ngoc