Silent, captivating and, increasingly, growing, internet addiction stands as the new technological pandemic of recent times: 6 hours and 58 minutes a day is, on average, the time a person spends worldwide surfing the net, according to the latest report ‘Digital 2022’ by Datareportal.
If you experience anxiety and tension in the absence of the Internet, euphoria when using a computer, feelings of guilt for having been connected longer than desired or, simply, recurrent thoughts about the activities that are carried out on the network, you may have coupled with the, by no means negligible, number of individuals who are addicted to the internet; although, not everything is bad.
While in Latin American and European countries, psychological intervention and pharmacological treatment stand as the main allies to combat this technological dependency; In China, the methods are much more radical, strict and rigorous: there are camps to cure internet addiction.
(Also read: This is how a clinic works where video game addicts are rehabilitated).
Although, at first glance, they seem more like military recruitment barracks than anything else, the reality is that inside these camps the inmates – boys, girls, men and women who range between eight and 30 years of age – they are subjected to intense programs that test their discipline, personality and obedience.
radical treatment? Effective intervention? extreme cure? Over the years, the camps to combat compulsive behavior towards the Internet have become more than an urban legend, they are the reality of hundreds of people who are hospitalized to fight against an addiction that is as real as it is alarming.
A challenging program of ‘discipline and repetition’
With military uniforms, strict routines, strenuous physical training, some recreational activities and no access to electronic devicesthe inmates -who are mostly young people admitted against their will- try to fight against internet addiction to achieve their reintegration into real life.
“My father brought me to see the doctor, but he locked me up here instead. They tied my hands”, recounted, between tears and uncontrolled sobs, one of the inmates of a Chinese treatment center, in the documentary ‘China’s Web Junkies’; while another said that, from the beginning, he had a bad feeling about the site: “When we arrived at these facilities, I felt that there was something sinister in this place and I tried to leave.”
(Read on: ‘I dropped out of school and wrote a suicide note’: Former video game addict.)
The treatment consists of a mixture of psychological therapy and military exercises. which can last from a few weeks to several months.
In general, the routine is almost always the same: get up at 5 in the morning, physical training, lunch, more training, ethics classes, recreational activities, dinner and bed. In some cases, cleaning, cooking and reading are activities that are added to the list.
Mom, I’m suffering. And not because I can’t use the computer here, it’s because of the loneliness I feel. You tricked me into coming here, I’m begging you, I can’t live anymore
Although unconventional treatments have been denounced, such as electric shocks and neurological scans, the reality is that more than the physical punishments to which they are often subjected, the inmates fight against a much more silent enemy, loneliness.
(Of interest: Are you addicted to the Internet? Identify the problem and act).
“Mom, I am suffering. And not because I can’t use the computer here, it’s because of the loneliness I feel. You tricked me into coming here, I beg you, I can’t live anymore,” read one of the mothers -in a letter- of a young intern at a technology addiction treatment center, while tears flooded her face, bewildered by the strong statements from your son.
Parents, of course, must also do their part. The camps are responsible for actively involving them in the rehabilitation process of their children through talksvisits and, on many occasions, reflections endowed with a firm hand, authority and scolding.
(Also: Addiction to video games is already a mental illness for the WHO).
“Criticizing, accusing and blaming, do you think that these are the best ways to make them change, reflect and progress? One of the great problems of these young people is that they feel alone, did you know that?”, one of the officials of the center questioned dozens of parents who watched expectantly, in the aforementioned documentary.
From people obsessed with video games to people who are fanatical about social networks and other digital platforms, the extreme camps are filled not only with technological addicts, but also with loneliness, sadness and, at times, a lot of resentment. Such is the case of a young Chinese woman who, according to ‘China Mail’, starved her mother to death in revenge for having sent her to one of those centers.
(You can read: The new addictions that affect the new generations).
“It is very difficult for a child to live an experience like this. I don’t think it helps”, assured Maccotta to ‘CNN’ regarding the effectiveness of this radical method of treatment that, little by little, has been adding more people to their lists.
Internet addiction in China
China recognized the addictive nature of the internet and online gaming many years ago. As is typical of the Asian country -which is characterized by making radical and authoritarian decisions-, it decided to establish technological rehabilitation camps as an infallible cure for this type of psychological dependence.
(You may be interested: ‘Social networks are worse than cigarettes’).
Although in countries such as Colombia, this type of addiction goes unnoticed among citizens, in China it was recognized as a clinical disease worthy of treatment in 2008according to the private news agency ‘Europa Press’.
While in 2009 the number of internet addicts amounted to 24 million people, according to a study by the Chinese Youth Association for Network Development; for the year 2020 it was located outside the list of the 10 countries addicted to the internet, according to an investigation carried out by Lenstore.
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