Experts are calling for more regulation of the internet to limit
unhealthy influences on teenagers.
Li Jiangzhou, headmaster of Beijing's No. 19 Middle School and a
member of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's
Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), proposed reinforcing
internet laws.
Online forums where anyone can register anonymously abound,
which means that students are exposed to lots of "unhealthy
material", Li said.
He cited a forum about "my experience of conflict" full of
vengeful remarks by students about their teachers and classmates.
"This can be harmful to their study and healthy development," said
Li.
Shang Xiuyun, judge of the juvenile court and a member of the
Beijing Municipal People's Congress, worries about the influence of
online games on children.
"Many online games emphasize violence and eroticism," she said,
"they blur youngsters' moral perception and drag them down into a
loss of respect for human life."
But Shang did not think more laws was necessarily the best
solution. She said that techniques should be developed so that
students can filter unhealthy stuff on the internet.
Besides, she said the reason why young people log onto unhealthy
websites is partly because there aren't enough good ones for them.
She suggested creating captivating websites that hold their
interest. "This is ultimately more useful than subjecting them to
bans," she said.
Over the past few years, China has seen an alarming rise in the
number of teenagers addicted to internet cafes and gaming.
A report released by the China National Children's Center last
year claimed that 13 percent of Chinese internet users under the
age of 18 are internet addicts.
Official statistics show that the number of internet users in
China reached 123 million in mid-2006. About 15 percent of the
total - or 18 million - are under the age of 18.
(Xinhua News Agency January 29, 2007)