Treatment for Internet Addiction

[Zen]

What do you think of the way China treats these teenagers? Do you think they have a right to do this? Do you think these kids need help, and how much and how drastic should it be? What kind of help does your country offer to those who are addicted to the internet? Do you think it's an addiction?

 

[York]

As a native, immigrant Chinese person, I'd like to say this "internet" addiction wouldn't really be considered something on that level. The internet is simply an easier (and some believe a safer way) to have the company of other humans to some extent. It's the human nature in general to want to be together in some form or another, leading to long periods of time spent on it, rather than real life since the internet itself proves to be more engaging to alot of the current generation (including me). The "treatments" that are offered, along with how the documentary presents the internet (basically, it runs every aspect of the online experience through a "shit filter" and leave out the things that aren't shit, AKA aren't crucial to them attemtping to stoke or fuel the viewer(s) belief that the internet is a bad thing.) aren't exactly the best in the world in my opinion, and has the potential to make a problem out of something that might as well go away had it been dealt with in a more subtle manner. Sometimes however, there are cases where internet addiction can happen due to mental issues, but those things run far deeper than just using the internet. From what I've seen on the documentary, the adults of the families are simply reacting to the internet as something new, different, and trying to kill its presense, but in the end, just creating a significant gap in their relationships with their children in alot of cases due to the fairly severe methods they've utilized to "cure" their kids.

 

[Minibit]

I think it's extreme.

YES, some people use the internet to an unhealthy extent, using diapers to avoid having to go to the restroom, spine damage from being hunched over all the time, becoming out of touch with IRL people and socialization to an unhealthy degree, becoming "cruel" or resentful of anyone who tries to take them away from the internet, etcetera, but what the one guy said about loneliness is totally true. I think that if someone is this bad about their internet habits, it's probably a lot to do with social anxiety, loneliness, or some other mental issue that needs to be dealt with. when it goes that far, there's a decent chance it's like the one guy said - they're losing themselves in a world that's easier for them. Sometimes this kind of escapism is therapeutic - it's half the reason most of us roleplay is to get that escapism. But if it gets so obsessive and takes up so much of their life that it's severely affecting their physical and mental health, that maybe monitoring their internet time, restricting it a little, helping them to find activities they enjoy that don't involve screens, maybe a mental health counsellor if it comes to that, are better ways of dealing with it than locking them in a prison/military style camp. Most of these cases are teenagers - minors, right? So their parents should step up and enforce this shit, and if they can't, if it's too much to handle or it's just not working, then get help - a counsellor or something, but don't ship them off to freakin military drill camp where they're taught that the greatest tool of our generation is making them sick!

 

[Fijoli]

I just want to smack the shit out of parents anymore, and lying to them to get them in there? Wtf.

That just totally makes things worse, there is a reason most rehab centers only take on the willing.

The only part I liked about this video is when the guy yells at the parents. I wished he was yelling.

My internet time has always been limited and always come second to everything else in life, and that's because my mother did her job as a mother and regulated my internet intake.

Maybe if these kids were willing it would be a different story, doing anything against someone's will is only going to cause resentment and distrust and even more loneliness.

I do not agree with any of this over the internet??? Electric heroine?!?! Please, I don't see them conditioning them on how often they CAN use the internet. It just seems to me there is no positive reward and no teaching the correct way to use what is being abused.

 

[York]

Updating on the situation here: I just recently caught wind of multiple stories (This one's just an example) of some quite disturbing news about what's been happening in those "treatment facilities"...

 

[SlamifiedBuddafied]

Everyone else who has responded basically summed up my opinion, so I leave a wonderful little quote from an amazing game in our past.

"Free flow of information is the only safeguard against tyranny. The once-chained people whose leaders at last lose their grip on information flow will soon burst with freedom and vitality, but the free nation gradually constricting its grip on public discourse has begun its rapid slide into despotism. Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master."

Though these are two different things, the free flow of information and the excessive use of online gaming to such ridiculous and extreme extents. Yes, I love games and play a few hours a day; have I ever neglected my bodies physical needs in order to be better at a game? Hell to the no. However the treatment of these people does seem harsh, but then again, these are consequences that may be equal to the actions they took which led them to such a place in the beginning. I believe one may be addicted to anything, whether it be of the body or mind.
In the end, the word moderation comes to mind, but I have a hard time stepping over cultural barriers as I myself am trapped in the stagnant culture of mid-west America.

As for some other comments here, the factor that isn't properly considered these days is accountability. It is not simply the fault of the child, but the fault of the mother and father who raise the child as well. This was a lesson well learned from a lifetime of observation between myself, my siblings and my parents. Though it may take a village to raise a child, it is the mother and father who must pay a close eye on their child lest something like this may happen.

I could go on and on, but the point has been made.