Internet addiction continues to plague 10 per cent of teenagers in China. Photo: Alamy
Internet addiction continues to plague 10 per cent of teenagers in China. Photo: Alamy
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Inside China Tech: Inside a Chinese internet addiction treatment centre

  • China classified internet addiction as a public health threat more than a decade ago
  • We visit one of the treatment centres for internet addicts

Yang YangCelia ChenZen SooChua Kong Ho
Yang Yang Celia Chen Zen Soo and Chua Kong Ho

Updated: 2:51pm, 20 Aug, 2019

Why you can trust SCMP
Internet addiction continues to plague 10 per cent of teenagers in China. Photo: Alamy
Internet addiction continues to plague 10 per cent of teenagers in China. Photo: Alamy

 

In 2018, the World Health Organisation classified “gaming disorder” as an official disease. That came 10 years after China officially recognised the broader concept of internet addiction. Since then, many so-called internet addiction treatment centres have since sprung up and controversies have ensued over how such diseases should be treated.

In some places, treatments included not just counseling and medication but military-style discipline, hypnosis and even electroshock therapy. Stories have emerged of patients being physically abused, or even killed, at some centres.

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China has since stepped in to better regulate the industry, but internet addiction continues to plague 10 per cent of teenagers, along with their families.

SCMP tech reporter Celia Chen paid a rare visit one of the treatment centres: the Adolescent Psychological Development Base, which is about 30km from central Beijing.

The Inside China Tech team asked her what she learned.

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Produced and Written by Yang Yang.

Yang Yang

Yang Yang

Yang Yang was a podcast producer at the Post from 2019 to 2020. Before joining the Post in 2019, Yang was a TV producer and editor for 2M Media Group in Washington, where she produced mini-documentaries and studio interviews.

Celia Chen

Celia Chen

Celia is a tech reporter for the Post, covering companies such as Tencent, JD.com and Foxconn. She also covers start-up news and China's tech world. Prior to joining the Post, she worked for China Daily.

Zen Soo

Zen Soo

Zen Soo worked at the Post from 2015 until 2019. She covered China technology, in particular e-commerce, online to offline and mobile payments. She also wrote about Southeast Asian tech companies.

Chua Kong Ho

Chua Kong Ho

Chua Kong Ho is a former technology editor at the South China Morning Post.