Since Internet addiction disorder (IAD) was first introduced by
Dr. Goldberg as a new type of addiction in 1995, Internet addiction
has been widely covered. Research has been published; diagnostic
standards as well as solutions have been proposed.
Currently in China there are 140 million Internet users. The
press thoroughly discusses this issue, in particular adolescent
Internet addiction. But most news articles depict the negative and
pathological usage.
China Youth Daily published two articles, one written
by Chen Weiwei from the Zhejiang Education Institute and the other
by a Beijing resident Xiao Yunian, on August 19. They project a
different point of view. They both claim that these reports are
escalating prejudice against Internet use, which is in turn driving
anxious parents to cut their kids off from the Internet. These
biased reports are depicting juveniles as Internet victims, even
stigmatizing them as addicts. They also analyzes the formation of
this stigma.
How "Juvenile Internet Addiction" creates
hysteria
China has the world's largest population of Internet users; 15
percent are under 18. And of 18.3 million teen users, more than 2
million are addicts, according to a November 2006 report published
by the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of
China.
Many similar surveys and research all repeat the same thing:
teenagers are getting addicted to the Internet. The premise that
"the Internet is bad for young people" is now widely believed by
many parents.
Adults assess teenage behavior by often using two visual angles:
approval or disapproval. "Disapproval" behaviors focus on the
negative side. When a parent believes that the Internet is filled
with pornography, for example, then they will probably view surfing
on the Internet as bad behavior.
The adult world is accustomed to judge juveniles by two simple
terms, "good" or "bad." Every bad behavior has an opposite, a good
behavior. Conversely, many teenagers who fail to be labeled as
"good" kids are considered "bad."
Meanwhile, adults and experts have monopolized the description
of juvenile Internet usage. They form a consistent pattern of
assessment, but the adolescent participation in their assessment
falls short. The monopolized description lacks introspection and
turns a deaf ear to the teenage voices.
Sociological analysis of adolescent Internet
addiction
Internet addiction is a social phenomenon and closely connected
to the society itself.
As the economy booms, more people, young and old, are getting
online and regard the Internet as an excellent tool for gathering
information and for interpersonal communication.
Two surveys, one carried out in the United States in 1997 and
another in Canada in 2001, both revealed that juveniles spent less
time online than adults. A new survey conducted in China by the
China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) this year also
showed that Chinese people aged 20 to 35 account for the largest
group among all Internet users, up to 66.3 percent, while juveniles
less than 18 years old account for only 17.2 percent. The questions
are: Why are people paying more attention to juvenile Internet
addiction but ignoring the same problem among adult users? What
kind of ideology is behind the flat-out denouncement of Internet
gaming?
"In our society, youth is present only when its presence is a
problem, or is regarded as a problem," Dick Hebdige stated in 1988.
News coverage of popular papers, together with scholarly reports,
gives the public the impression that "juveniles are becoming a
problem." This prim notion evades rational thought and prevents us
from looking carefully at our next generation. Moreover, teenagers
suffer from low self-esteem as a consequence.
Usually, juveniles spend heterogeneous lives fused together in
cliques during the academic year. Anything idiosyncratic easily
catches the public eye. Especially today Chinese people are
inclined to blame social woes, such as drug addiction and
pre-marital sex on peculiar juvenile behavior. Chinese adults
dominate the community. Adult experts and reporters monopolize
public opinion with their explanations regarding juvenile norms
while juvenile voices are mostly snuffed out.
The public feels relief when the media transforms public
restraint on social immorality into the problems of juveniles.
Many juveniles become addicted to the Internet to escape from
the pressures of real life. Yet when adults criticize this
addiction, experts often ignore the reason why they too become
addicted.
Compared to reality, cyberspace provides a comfortable virtual
world. It's psychologically satisfying juveniles because it
provides anonymity, rich information and novelty.
In cyberspace teenagers can interact with their peers yet enjoy
great privacy. They can play violent games but no one gets hurt.
Internet chat rooms allow them talk freely and enjoy role-playing.
Moreover, the Internet provides abundant knowledge that cannot be
found in textbooks, information that can widen their knowledge and
inspire them to higher ideals.
Chinese traditions affirm that young people must use their youth
to study diligently. Teenagers who enjoy too much leisure are
frowned upon.
Surfing on the Internet is an ideal teenage pursuit: it allows
them freedom from their parents but it costs very little. When
parents realize that they are helpless in preventing their kids
from visiting Internet cafés they often feel anxious.
An American survey showed that 69 percent of American adults go
nuts when they get an offer for cyber sex, but these adults don't
have a clue on how to get counseling for this problem. In similar
circumstances, 79 percent of teenagers have the same reaction;
clearly, there is no great difference between adults and teenagers.
But unpredictable teenage behavior generates real anxiety in
adults.
Challenge of the establishment of adults'
authority
When sitting in front of a computer surfing the Internet,
experience and educational background are no longer necessary
guarantees toward acquiring adult power. In cyberspace, adults are
no longer monopolistic providers of information.
Teenagers get acquainted online. They form groups out of the
control of adults. This process has widened the gap between adults
and teenagers.
Meantime, cyberspace provides an equal, fair place for everyone
to communicate. Appearance, social statue and real wealth are not
important. Real life interactions could certainly drive teenagers
to this less pressured cyberspace.
What is the solution for Internet
Addiction?
Two young men from inland China, An Zhiban and Zhang Fei, once
were enrolled at the prestigious Peking University and Tsinghua
University respectively. They became addicted to the Internet soon
after; they both got expelled eventually. One year later, the two
young men again entered the same universities after receiving high
entrance exam scores. Again they both became addicted to the
Internet and were expelled. Why did the two extremely intelligent
people become Internet addicts?
Certainly Internet games provide great satisfaction to their
users – but what is the essence of this kind of 'virtual'
satisfaction? Are players compensating for what they cannot get
from reality?
No doubt, some teenage Internet users become addicted to online
games and get "hooked" on virtual interactivity. This creates new
mental problems, and even disrupts their personal and/or school
lives. More significantly, most teenage behavior reflects the adult
world.
Seeing that our adult world is jam packed with addicted
consumers who have forgotten the essence of life, what can we
expect from our kids?
What is the most effective way to cure Internet addiction? Some
authorities employ strict regulations. The Chinese government has
required Internet café operators to install software that
discourages teenage players from spending more than three hours
online starting this July. However, this newly invented monitoring
software quickly becomes invalid, sometimes days after it was
implemented, according to news reports.
Plato said that the soul has three distinct divisions –
rational, spiritual and desire. The rational part can guide us to
fulfill our appetite, but only via our spiritual element can a man
find the ideal way to link rationality with desire. Teenage
Internet addicts have enough rational components to seek
satisfaction in cyberspace. What they lack is a spiritual element
that could guide them toward rational achievements. But, in fact,
we adults lack true understanding as well. The field has a long way
to go before complete comprehension of this phenomenon is
reached.
(China.org.cn by Wang Zhiyong, August 28, 2007)