Electric Acupuncture To Cure Internet Addiction?

from the ok,-i'll-log-off-now,-thanks dept

We're always a bit skeptical of stories talking about "internet addiction" as it seems like people have a bit of an addiction to calling people addicts about just about anything -- usually to boost a doctor's business in "curing" addicts. For the most part, the "addicts" in question are usually little more than people who need to learn better time and self-management skills. There are lots of things that people use all the time that are hardly worthy of the "addiction" label. The problem is only when any activity becomes destructive -- and that seems quite rare. Yes, there are a few examples of people staying online for days on end (and even dying), though usually associated with a game. In those cases, though, it usually seems like there are plenty of other indicators concerning the "problem" the person was facing, which may have been ignored. Over in China, for example, there's a story about popular new treatments for "internet addiction" that includes the story of a 13-year-old boy who often played a video game for two days straight, without eating or sleeping -- and then committed suicide. His father complains "I don't know how he got so lost." Well, leaving him alone to play a video game for two straight days without any food or sleep suggests that, perhaps, his parents weren't paying very much attention to him, and could indicate there were other issues in his life that he was trying to deal with. However, the rest of the article includes some other surprising statements about China's first internet addiction clinic -- which charges $1,000 for a two-week detox that includes electric acupuncture, counseling and drugs to help people quit their internet addiction. The article suggests this treatment is quite popular (and growing even more so over time), yet nowhere does it indicate how the clinic establishes if someone has a real problem, or if they're just someone who finds the internet, you know, useful.
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  1. identicon
    Brewski, 29 Dec 2005 @ 6:46am

    Can't get enough!

    Hi, my name is Brewski.

    Hello, Brewski.

    I'm a TechDirt addict.

    Clap. Clap. Clap.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. identicon
    Anonymous of Course, 29 Dec 2005 @ 11:04am

    Re: Can't get enough!

    "...$1,000 for a two-week detox that includes
    electric acupuncture, counseling and drugs to
    help people quit their internet addiction."

    Mmmm... drugs. Who would have thought that
    drugs would be a cure for internet addiction!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. identicon
    Phuzzy, 30 Dec 2005 @ 4:39am

    Yet another

    Yet another Doctors excuse to claim a new desease to cure, and yet more money in their pockets from our own lack of better judgement.

    link to this | view in thread ]

  4. identicon
    Bob, 31 Dec 2005 @ 1:19am

    Cure

    Hey I can do it for half the price.

    For a one time fee of $500, I can guarantee to cure your internet addiction for you. Of course it involves taking a sledgehammer to your computer, but hey, if the end result is the same, then who cares, right?

    No drugs or painful electrotherapy to worry about, and no need to wait two weeks.. you get results instantly!

    link to this | view in thread ]

  5. identicon
    Jane Freeman, 16 May 2006 @ 6:14am

    Cure addiction with drugs?

    This type of sad story is so, so common - but this doesn't make it any less disturbing. Not many people will realize this but this whole classification thing of 'addictions' and 'disorders' is a great big, money-making con instigated by the large pharmeceutical companies. Now they've even got an 'internet addiction' - give me a break! A colleague of mine has been the medical expert in many civil and criminal suits including individual malpractice cases and product liability suits against the manufacturers of psychiatric drugs. And we know what they're up to! These companies will continue to employ psychiatrists and psychologists to 'make up' new 'diseases' which have to be treated with their profitable drugs. You know, eventually, they'll get your friends, your family, your children - if not this generation, then the next or the one after that. The story above is just one of so, so many. This is such a destructive and deadly scam, effecting our whole society and culture. In fact, our future. If your're interested (and you should be!), please visit my site and fill out the contact form for my monthly newsletter. Want to know where our country is going if we let this continue? Please visit: http://www.addiction-helpline.co.uk

    link to this | view in thread ]

  6. identicon
    Techno, 9 Oct 2008 @ 4:53pm

    The Psychological profile of the World wide Web

    www.CarlJungTypes.com has a good discussion of the psychology of the web. It says that the web generates sensitivity to sensory stimulation but that the internet itself is not addictive.

    link to this | view in thread ]


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