COMP 2903A36 - In Korea, a Boot Camp Cure fro

Web ObsessionDanny Silver

JSOCS, Acadia University

Martin FacklerThe New York Times, November 18, 2007

Boot camp for the Obsessed

• Imagine 12 days of:– No computers, 1 hour of cell phone per day– Drill instructors, physical exercise– Obstacle courses, group activities– House durties– Counseling sessions– Pottery and drumming therapy

• Jump Up Internet Rescue School– Camp for cyberspace addiction

Do you know anyone who is obsessed with IT?

• Try an Internet Addiction Test • Here is another• And there are several others on the web.

• So let’s try and experiment …

• http://www.mlgpro.com/2009/Halo3/LiveCompetition/TeamStandings

South Korea most wired nation on earth

• 90% of homes connect to high-speed Internet• Online gaming is a professional sport• “PC Bang” social life• … Has led to compulsive Internet use as being

seen as a mental health issue– Students skip school– People have dropped dead from exhaustion after

playing games for days– Up to 30% (2.4 M) of under 18 are at risk

South Korea most wired nation on earth

• Addressing the problem:– 140 internet-addiction counseling centres– Treatment programs at all hospitals– Internet Rescue Camp (started summer 2007)– First International Symposium on Internet

Addiction – Sept, 2007

A Growing Problem

• Other countries are now having to deal with IA– China and Taiwan– USA - 9 M may be at risk– Canada