Internet Addiction Disorder Kills Teenager
Posted on 05. Aug, 2009 by Stenberg-Tendys W.L. in Society
Three adult supervisors, who were supposed to be trying to cure 16 year old Deng Senshan of his compulsive computer use, have been detained by the police after Senshan died at a Survival Training Camp.
“We are investigating a case where a high school student was beaten to death by his camp supervisors. The case is still under investigation,” a police officer in Nanning, Guangxi province, told the Chinese state media.
Deng Fei, the boy’s father said he had paid 7,000 yuan (£605) for his son to spend a month at the Guangxi Qihuang Survival Training camp, which promised to rid the boy of his Internet addiction. The clinic’s mission statement promised a tough environment, but said that torture and other methods that might damage a child’s health were not being used.
The father claimed his son had been put into solitary confinement shortly after his arrival and then beaten by adult supervisors, who were upset because he was ‘moving too slowly’.
There are several Internet addiction boot camps and clinics throughout China. The Minister of Health recently ordered an Internet addiction clinic in North China to refrain from using electro-shock therapy as part of its treatment. Former patients had complained online, about the harsh treatment they had received during their time in the camps.
Many people are querying IAD being diagnosed as a ‘mental disorder’. Elias Aboujaoude from the Stanford University School of Medicine doesn’t believe that Internet addiction should be considered a clinical disorder.
IAD, or problematic computer use, is classed as Internet overuse that interferes with daily life. It can include excessive viewing of pornography, overwhelming and excessive gambling, inappropriate involvement in social networking, or blogging, excessive Internet shopping and compulsive online game playing.
Senshan is apparently not the first person to have died in a government-funded Chinese Internet Addiction Camp.
“It should be the parents’ problem,” said a former patient. “Why do they always exaggerate their kids’ hobbies, turning them into addictions or problems? Why can’t people accept new ideas and new things with an open mind?” However, IAD can be found in all age groups and is not just limited to teenagers.
A case pending in the court in the Southern Disctrict of New York is over IAD. The plaintiff is arguing he was illegally fired in violation of the Americans ‘With Disabilities Act’, because he says IAD triggered a Vietnam War-related Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
The term IAD was originally coined as a humorous hoax. It has now considered a serious disorder, the same as overeating, bulimia, or any other form of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. There is talk of being able to claim insurance on IAD counseling.
While IAD is not only a Chinese phenomenon, one questions if the one-child policy has added to the problem. With no siblings to play with, no females to date, what is a Chinese teenager meant to do with his time? Maybe he could earn a cerificate and become a therapist in Internet Addiction Recovery, through accredited online home study courses.
