Counselor’s Corner:

How much time do you spend online each day? Do you believe that you have the Internet under control, or do you think that it controls you? Apparently, this is a problem in South Korea, at least for its young people.

It was reported in November that a child psychiatrist in Seoul reported the results of his three-year study pertaining to the issue of youth and Internet addiction. The psychiatrist concluded that approximately 30% of South Korean youth under 18 years of age are at risk of addiction to the Internet.

This study was reported by Dr. Ahn Dong-hyun, whose focus is on those who spend two hours or more each day online. The online time includes surfing the net, playing games, chatting either with friends or in chat rooms, and anything else one can do online. The 30% number represents approximately 2.4 million people who Dong-hyun believes are at risk for Internet addiction, and he estimates the number of actual Internet addicts at about 10% of that, or 250,000. He defines addiction as “an inability to stop oneself from using computers, a rising level of tolerance that drives one to seek ever longer sessions online, and withdrawal symptoms such as craving when one is prevented from logging on.”

What brought this issue to the attention of the Korean government, which led to the government sponsoring this study by Dr. Dong-hyun? Several youthful users have actually died of exhaustion after staying on the Internet for several days in a row without logging off, and others have skipped school so that they could keep playing whatever games they were playing online. So what has the South Korean government come up with to try to deal with this problem? There is a three-tiered approach. The first step is to refer your youth to one of 140 Internet addiction counseling centers. If that doesn’t get the job done, you can then send your child to one of approximately 100 Internet addiction treatment hospitals. If neither of these get the job done, you can now send your youth to Internet Rescue Camp.

The first Internet Rescue Camp or school was created in the summer of 2007. It is a combination rehabilitation center and boot camp. It is similar to what you might see in this country addressing the issue of alcohol or drugs. This facility features group therapy sessions, pottery workshops, drumming lessons and drill instructors leading their captive audience through a military-type obstacle course.