帮助年轻人戒除网瘾

As internet usage continues to surge in China there's a growing concern amongst some parents that their children are becoming addicted to the online world. Some families have chosen to send children to specialist facilities which treat the addiction as a mental disorder. There’s no international consensus on whether the addiction can be classified that way, but it has been listed by the American Psychiatric Association as a model worth studying. Our reporter Wu Guoxiu takes a look at one such facility in Beijing.

In a military style, these young people assemble before lunch. They are receiving treatment for their internet addiction, at the Daxing facility, in the Southern part of Beijing.

"I was cheated. My parents said they would take me for a trip to Beijing, but brought me here."

The boys said they used to play extremely long hours of online games.

"I played internet games for more than 20 hours a day for two years, at home or at the internet bar."

The door to the dorms is locked, to prevent the young people from running away.

Windows are also reinforced.

"Those who have never seen internet addicts will not understand how addicted they are. Let me give you an example. Some children here have worn diapers to save time for internet gaming. Some have even turned violent. When parents tried to stop them from playing, they stabbed them with knives, turned on the gas, or threatened to jump out of the building." addiction specialist Tao Ran, director of Youth Mental Dev’t Base,said.

They are given medicine as well as therapy sessions. They also take part in military drills. The treatment usually lasts three to six months.

"There is no drug for internet addiction. We give them drugs to cure their associated mental symptoms, like depression, anxiety, obsession and insomnia." Tao said.

Tao Ran says his center has a 70% success rate. The key is to let parents stay and join in the therapy sessions.
"We have learned a lot. Our education measures have been wrong, we hit or curse them, giving them too much pressure." A parent said.

Tao Ran and his team has proposed a criteria to diagnose internet gaming disorder. He says the criteria has been adopted by the most recent edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders by the American Psychiatric Association. He says there is no global consensus on whether the addiction should be classified as a mental disorder. But there should be more measures in place to help those young people.

There are reported to be over 300 internet addiction treatment centres in China. Their existence shows there is demand from worried parents who want help for their children. According to a survey, more than 24 million young Chinese are addicted to the internet, with another 18 million as risk.