CRI听力：Medical Expert Defends Internet-Addiction Claim

A leading medical expert has said that Internet addiction is a pyschological disease, defending a claim that has triggered widespread online debate since he made it earlier in November.

Tao Ran, who was in charge of drafting the Internet Disorder Diagnostic Manual for release, was quoted in China Daily as saying that defining Internet addiction as a mental disorder did not discriminate against young people who are addicted to it.

He said in the newspaper that many people often assume mental disorders refer only to insanity, when in fact they include depression, sleep disorders and anxiety disorders.(www.hxen.net)

Tao Ran said he and 41 other doctors studied more than 1,300 Internet addicts over the past four years. The symptoms listed in the manual were based on their clinical experiences, he said.

The study has raised fears that addicts could avoid liability for committing crimes if their addiction is defined as a mental problem.

The newspaper presents a clear definition of an Internet addict as a person who for more than three months has been online for fun for more than six hours per day and who shows no interest in other activities and feels restless when he is prevented from using the Internet.