China Opens Its First Clinic To Combat Internet Addiction

As more and more people in China get connected to the Internet, the number of those addicted to the Internet rises.  The country promotes use of Internet for business and education, but believes that places like Internet cafes are “eroding public morality”.  These beliefs have led the country to open the first officially licensed Internet addiction clinic.  The clinic is ran by Dr. Tao Ran, with most of the patients between the ages of 14 - 24 suffering from nervousness, fear, depression, agitation, and an unwillingness to interact with others.  Dr. Ran estimates that about 2.5 million Chinese are currently suffering from Internet addiction, although not everyone agrees on the accuracy of that number. “As the number of the Netizens grows, the number of the addicted people will grow as well, but we should not worry about the issue too much,” says Kuang Wenbo, a professor at the Beijing Renmin University. “The young men at the age of growing up have their own problems. Even if there was no Internet they will get addicted to other things.”

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