Much attention has been paid lately to internet addiction in China, notably among young users. Allegedly, between four and ten million underage internet users are addicts, which according to the official definition, includes spending six hours or more a day in front of the computer, losing out on social activities, experiencing anxiety, along with several other qualifications.

Photo: mandiberg

Internet addiction is certainly a real problem in China and across the world, though at the same time it is an odd chimera: it can reflect not just a compulsive desire to use the computer, but also be a means of chasing after other compulsive desires – gambling, shopping or pornography. Use can vary widely between practical activities, useless ones and harmful ones. In the most severe cases, internet users spend days at a time in front of the screen, forgoing family, friends and even meals.

China has reacted swiftly to deal with internet overuse, especially among the underaged. Therapeutic approaches have ranged from medication, hypnotherapy, electroshock therapy and military-style boot camp. Reaction against some of these methods has been quick in coming. Electroshock therapy is now officially banned (at least for internet addiction), and boot camps have just received a horrible reputation since the tragic beating death of a 15-year-old internee earlier this August.

There appears to be an intense focus on this problem now, as well as an intense focus on the possible solutions, a focus so strong that it sometimes leads to extreme measures. I humbly propose trying some simpler measures first, before solving our problems by taking the radical ones.

Parents:
1: If your child plays too many games on the weekend, he is not necessarily an addict. He may not necessarily need professional help. He may be a normal child, who needs you, as parents, to show love and place some limits. Get him involved with positive activities which he enjoys, and don't permit him to go overboard with the computer. If he does, there must be consequences (aka punishments), and those consequences should be given firmly and consistently. Placing limits will help with impulse control. Impulse control will help with any nearly any bad habit.

2: If your child wants to escape from the reality at home by turning to the computer, or to anything else, it may mean there is actually something at home he wishes to escape from. Is the home a place of constant conflict? Is the home lacking in love and happiness? Ask yourselves these questions, and do what you can to answer them. Rage and violence are big reasons that children seek to escape. So are boredom and lack of love.

3: Internet obsession may be a result of real social fear. If your child can't get along with most of his peers, it is probably the social phobia that needs dealing with as this is the root of the problem. It can take time and practice to overcome the disconnect, but work with counselors to do so. It does not require medication to help a child with such extreme shyness. Talking and understanding do wonders by themselves.

Adults:
It's hard to imagine that overusing the internet is only a problem for teenagers. It is a problem for many adults as well, including this writer and perhaps a good portion of the audience. So whether we call this matter an addiction or a merely a bad habit, adults can use some methods to try and get themselves offline.

1: Replace the wasted time on the computer with something else, especially if it is something you have been losing out on because of computer use. What do you love to do? What did you used to love to do? Start scheduling these things regularly, and keep companions who do them too. Scheduling your internet usage, along with something to do afterward, is also a good way to keep it from growing from an hour to an afternoon.

2: Sometimes our habits are really a diamond in the rough. There is actually something valuable there, but we just can't see it.

For example, if your time is spent reading hundreds of news sites or clicking every link in the online encyclopedia, this actually says something very good. You have an interest to learn about the world around you. You think. Take that gem of an interest and you can use it to be a writer, a reporter or something similar. Besides, if you're behind the computer so much because you're socially withdrawn, once you get writing, a lot of people will want to hear all about it. You may have an instantaneous connection.

Another example may be watching movies. Is this what eats up the late hours? Well, there is a fine line between wasting our time and having culture. Instead of watching by yourself until you fall asleep, watch with friends and have a discussion afterwards. Learn about the director and the writer. Bring food and drink. Maybe if you like the way directors tell stories so much, you may get your camera, hit the streets and tell some of your own. Wasted time, then, becomes valuable time.

3: In many instances we confront our bad habits face to face, and we get KO'd time after time. It can be frustrating, humiliating and make us fatalistic. However, one way to deal with the beast is much more indirectly. Simply go out and do good. Volunteer your time to help someone. Care for the sick. Help the poor. Simply doing good can fill the space in your heart and mind, leaving less space and attention for empty pleasures.

4: Ask for help. If your life is really disappearing onto the computer, don't be ashamed to talk to someone. Which of your friends, if you asked for help, would laugh in your face? Call them when your habit is beating up on you. Ask them to check up on you regularly. They might feel privileged to have the chance to help you. I know that I would.

Do the Homework:
If your child's computer habit, or your own, is truly beyond your own help, searching out professional help is fair enough. However, do some research on the people first, and on the methods which they use. Speak with some current and former customers. It is worth spending the time to discern between the scrupulous, the risky and the criminal.

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