Thursday, February 22, 20073
Should internet addiction be a mental disorder?
China thinks it should be, and is taking drastic measures for treatment:
The clinic in Daxing, a suburb of Beijing, the capital, is the oldest and largest, with 60 patients on a normal day and as many as 280 during peak periods. Few of the patients, who range in age from 12 to 24, are here willingly. Most have been forced to come by their parents, who are paying upward of $1,300 a month -- about 10 times the average salary in China -- for the treatment.
Led by Tao Ran, a military researcher who built his career by treating heroin addicts, the clinic uses a tough-love approach that includes counseling, military discipline, drugs, hypnosis and mild electric shocks.
Comments
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Anonymous
It seems like, inasmuch as all addictive behavior is already considered a mental disorder, that internet addiction should be no different. How is it that different from a gambling addiction?
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Anonymous
How is it that different from a gambling addiction?
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Anonymous
This is stupid! If you do that then I guess any activity that anyone spends a significant amt of time doing should be treated as an addiction.
Post a Comment9:22 PM
You cannot loose all of your money on the internet?
I like the idea for it to be considered a mental disorder. Then anybody who is fired for spending too much time on the internet during work ours could claim discrimination. How about making it a disability? My work requires me to use computers, but I can't because I am addicted to the internet. I should get the disability payments from my company which by the way is around 70% of my salary. Cool.
11:08 PM
Bikers, runners, ball players= addiction.
1:34 AM