I found this interesting way of treating Internet addiction that they use in China.  They're masks that sort of remind me of a cyberpunk anime show but they are "nanometer wave machines" which are used to cure addiction.  Other treatments they use are isolation and electric shock.  Apparently one of the patients is at the clinic for going online for a few hours every night!  Most of the patients are forced by their parents and the cost of the treatment is $1,300 a month, which is 10 times the average salary in China!

So I think i'd be considered an Internet addict in China..!  A few hours a night is nothing really, but those are some pretty extreme forms of treatment.  Shock therapy, ouch. 

Yeah so would I! I'm on the internet way more than that and I don't think I'm addicted to it. I really go on it only for work and when I'm bored at home.

a boy from china "kidnapped" himself and asked for $1400 ransom to buy a wii! he hired two men to kidnap him so he could get his parents money. how ridiculous is this?! it seems like kids are so desperate and are willing to do whatever it takes to get what they want. i would never even do that or think about doing that to my parents..wouldnt they wonder where he got that money anyways?

twister32 said:

a boy from china "kidnapped" himself and asked for $1400 ransom to buy a wii! he hired two men to kidnap him so he could get his parents money. how ridiculous is this?! it seems like kids are so desperate and are willing to do whatever it takes to get what they want. i would never even do that or think about doing that to my parents..wouldnt they wonder where he got that money anyways?

 

hahaha that kids got motivation. When he wants something it seems he'll do whatever to get it. Thats ridiculous but I also think its funny.

electric shock therapy??? I dont think thats such a good idea didn't psychologists used to use this to treat depression and it worked but after a few times the person can be permanently damaged.

Doesn't it damage your memory too?  It seems like a person would be like a zombie after a session of that!  I have a few guesses about why so many Chinese are addicted to the Internet. 
maybe we should begin to question what the root causes of the “addiction” are. Lack of sports /recreational facilities, a mundane/dull media, lack of parks/open spaces and an over emphasis on homework. In addition, Chinese kids seem to lack basic social skills - one reason being the only child kids don’t appear to interact with their peers as other kids in families of 2 and more kids.
1. If you have traveled to the poorer regions of China, you will be shocked to find how packed the internet cafes are throughout the whole night. It is very cheap to spend the whole night there (less than $1.5 for a whole night of computer usage), which becomes the nightly activity of choice for many poor teenagers. So i believe, low income is a more important reason for them to spend time on computer instead of drinking and partying.

2. Most of them are either playing online games or I.M.ing their friends,or doing both at the same time, all activities highly addictive in their nature. So blame the gaming companies (i.e., Blizzard) for introducing great games and a great IM product of the Chinese company (HongKong-listed Tencent) for capturing more users than those of China Mobile, the largest mobile company in the world.

Arent chinese kids much smarter with computers and stuff than the kids in the U.S. I heard that they even know how to make cell phones. I dont know if it was a jokesince everything says made in China, but if its not then I bet they could do much more interesting stuff on the internet than we know how to do and thats what preoccopies their time.