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China Opens Boot Camp for Internet Addicts |
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Written by Staff Writer
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May 08, 2007 at 06:55 AM |
A boot camp near Beijing has opened to help China in the battle against internet addiction; a disorder that China says is afflicting millions of their youth. This treatment center, called the Internet Addiction Treatment Center (IATC), uses military drills and therapy to help the children that are addicted to online games, cybersex, chats and Internet pornography.
Li Yanlin, a university student who saw his grades drop after he became addicted to online games, said, “I gradually became obsessed.” After several weeks at the treatment center Yanlin said that he has “recognized the falseness of online gaming.”
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The government is now taking steps to help stop Internet addiction due to a number of internet related deaths and juvenile crimes. One of the more recent steps the China government has made is the banning of Internet cafes and the restrictions on the violent computer games.
But the opening of the treatment center really shows that the government is taking this situation seriously. The center is funded by the government and is run by a military colonel. The kids wake up at 6:15 a.m. to do morning calisthenics and to do their daily march. They also have drill sergeants who yell at them if they don’t attend the one-on-one and group therapy sessions.
One of the psychologists at the center, Xu Leiting, said “Many of the Internet addicts here have rarely considered other people’s feelings. The military training allows them to feel what it’s like to be a part of a team,” and that “it also helps their bodies recover and makes them stronger.”
The cost for this boot camp is about $1,290 a month, but the center does take pro bono cases for families that are poor. The treatment center has helped about 1,500 kids since it opened and has about a 70 percent success rate at breaking this addiction.
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