Internet cafes in Beijing are increasingly popular. Photograph: Greg Baker/AP
China's experiencing an internet boom of massive proportions - but not everybody's happy about the results. Government officials aren't happy about internet cafes, which they say erode morality - and as a result, they're backing clinics to treat "internet addiction", as Wired News reports.
The 12 teenagers and young adults, some in ripped jeans and baggy T-shirts, sit in a circle, chewing gum and fidgeting as they shyly introduce themselves.
"I'm 12 years old," one boy announces with a smile. "I love playing computer games. That's it." "It's been good to sleep" says another, a 17-year-old with spiky hair, now that he's no longer on the computer all day.
The youths are patients at China's first officially licensed clinic for internet addiction, a downside of the online frenzy that has accompanied the nation's breathtaking economic boom.
While treatment for addiction is no great surprise, there does seem something rather strange about some of the methods used here: "sessions on a machine that stimulates nerve impulses with 30-volt charges to pressure points" and "intravenous drips" sound particularly scary. I wonder how we'd all fare if government tests were applied to us...
