Internet Addiction

Doctors have found that teens who are addicted to the online world often neglect food, sleep, and even the toilet.

18:42 09 July 2015

Doctors in China have diagnosed teenagers who are addicted to the online world and use isolation from technology to treat the disorder. 

 

According to filmmakers Shosh Shlam and Hilla Medalia: "An internet addict is defined in China as someone who uses the internet for more than six hours a day for activities not related to school or work."

 

Their new film Web Junkie focuses on three teens who are being deprogrammed at a Beijing rehab centre. 

 

"The kids in the centre are using the internet for days and nights, they drop out of school, they don't have friends in reality anymore, and so their parents are completely desperate, bringing their kids to the centre as this is their last resort."

 

They added: "In China, some of these causes are the results of the One Child policy and a strict, conservative education system. The relationships inside the family of these kids are challenging as well. However, it’s hard to determine what came first and caused the other."

 

Of the children they met, the directors revealed: "One of the things all of them had in common is loneliness. In the film, Nicky says: 'When I feel lonely, I go online and there is another lonely person, who sits on the other side of the computer...'"