China Will Stop Physically Punishing People for Internet Addiction
That headline seems to come straight out of a sci-fi movie.
What can you say when a control-obsessed regime measures the level of Internet interaction of any given citizen? And what if the number of citizens reaches 1.3 billion?
The whole thing makes you wonder whether you still are in Kansas or not.
It turns out China's solution to the so-called Internet addiction is boot camps, as in places where youngsters bitten by the digital bug are interned into places "imbued with a military atmosphere," reports The Times of India.
The whole affair comes out amid the dreadful background of a tragic case. A 15-year-old by the name of Deng Senshan was pronounced dead days after he checked into an Internet addiction boot camp in the southwestern region of Guangxi.
Another kid survived his encounter with "healers" after he was treated for water in his lungs and kidney failure.
But wait. There is more. Up until July, the government of China finally banned the use of electro-shock therapy to treat this addiction.
We would not be surprised if this entirely sad story was turned into a horror movie. In the meantime, this is actually taking place in China.
What can you say when a control-obsessed regime measures the level of Internet interaction of any given citizen? And what if the number of citizens reaches 1.3 billion?
The whole thing makes you wonder whether you still are in Kansas or not.
It turns out China's solution to the so-called Internet addiction is boot camps, as in places where youngsters bitten by the digital bug are interned into places "imbued with a military atmosphere," reports The Times of India.
Chinese parents have turned to more than 200 organisations offering treatment for internet "disorders" as the government increasingly warns of unhealthy internet habits among the young.
Many of the camps are imbued with a military atmosphere. Patients are forced to replace hours in front of the computer with arduous physical drills or even more extreme "treatments".
"When intervening to prevent improper use of the internet, we should ... strictly prohibit restriction of personal freedom and physical punishments," the ministry said in a draft guideline for internet use by minors, posted on its website.
Many of the camps are imbued with a military atmosphere. Patients are forced to replace hours in front of the computer with arduous physical drills or even more extreme "treatments".
"When intervening to prevent improper use of the internet, we should ... strictly prohibit restriction of personal freedom and physical punishments," the ministry said in a draft guideline for internet use by minors, posted on its website.
The whole affair comes out amid the dreadful background of a tragic case. A 15-year-old by the name of Deng Senshan was pronounced dead days after he checked into an Internet addiction boot camp in the southwestern region of Guangxi.
Another kid survived his encounter with "healers" after he was treated for water in his lungs and kidney failure.
But wait. There is more. Up until July, the government of China finally banned the use of electro-shock therapy to treat this addiction.
We would not be surprised if this entirely sad story was turned into a horror movie. In the meantime, this is actually taking place in China.
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