For millions of young Chinese, the internet has been a revelation, allowing them to download music and movies, chat with friends and comment on current affairs.Tao Yong, a high school student in Yongjing, a fast-growing town on the upper reaches of the Yellow river, logs onto QQ, a popular instant messaging tool, at his local internet café. “This is so cool, I can meet so many new friends online.” He laughs when asked what else he does in his spare time. “There is nowhere else to go,” he says. “And we have to relax from all that pressure at school.”
Financial Times reports that In rural areas, a sizable proportion of the working-age population commutes to the city each day for work. Many leave their children with grandparents, who are often even less able to keep them at home.
A teacher in a Jiyuan school said, “Almost all my students spend most of their spare time hanging out in the internet café playing games. Their lives are empty. I don’t know how to reach out to them.” Our illustration shows children being given lessons on how to use the internet at a primary school in eastern China. Teachers provide free tuition on "surfing" on the weekends.