[photopress:teenage_addict_1.jpg,full,alignright]Chinese teenagers are becoming addicted to the internet, partly as a consequence of the strict ‘one-couple, one-child’ rule that has created a generation of lonely, spoilt children.
An expert said two million youngsters were affected. The Government is on the verge of implementing new rules restricting the hours that people can spend playing online games.
Addicts in China are on average ten years younger than those in the West, the Institute of Psychology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences found — between 14 and 19 instead of 20 and 30. Gao Wenbin, a researcher, said: ‘They are more susceptible.’
Most of the addicts are transfixed by online games. As many as 15% of internet players in this age group need help because their preoccupation with the virtual world damages their real-world life, the study concluded.
Gao Wenbin said: ‘The percentage is astounding. This can be the highest in the world.’ China already has the world’s second-largest internet population, after the US, with 123 million people online, of whom 15% are under 18.
Source: Times Online