Teenager chops off own hand 'to cure internet addiction'

A 19-year-old 'web junkie' cut off his left hand before calling a taxi to take him to A&E.

17:23 04 February 2015

A young man and self-proclaimed “web junkie” in China decided to cure his internet addiction by chopping off his left hand.

The teenager from Nantong, Jiangsu province, left a message for his mother before picking up a kitchen knife. After cutting off his left hand he called a taxi to take him to the hospital.

The boy’s mother, who declined to be identified, said: ‘We cannot accept what has happened,’

She continued: ‘It was completely out of the blue. He was a smart boy.’

She added that she found the note around 11pm that says “Mum, I have gone to hospital for a while.”

Fortunately, the surgeons at a local university hospital were able to reattach the hand. However, they cannot guarantee full mobility would return.

China has over 24 million so-called “web junkies” and campaigners say that the country is in the midst of a major online addiction epidemic. Symptoms include hardly leaving the bedroom and living an almost entirely in a virtual universe.