China Vows to Stamp Out Internet Addiction

The Chinese government is taking internet addiction amongst its youth very seriously. The government is using military-style traning on the unwilling adolescents (14-22) who have been not only dropped off by their parents, but accompanied by them. The parents must remain to be trained as well because their child's addiction is thought of as a result of bad parenting. The training is extremely expensive as well, estimated worth between 3 and 11 months of couple's salaries. One parent interviewed was more than willing to endure the burden, saying her son had bitten and struck her because he wasn't allowed access to the internet earlier that day.
The camps have come under scrutiny for excessively harsh treatment however. Recently a 15 year old was beat to death at an internet addiction clinic located within an army controlled base. The children are restricted from any internet, phone or television usage, of course, and cases of abuse are numerous. They receive medications as well as mild shock treatments, which receives negative feedback from some who say internet addiction should not receive the same treatment as drug or alcohol treatments.
Recently, 14 youth escaped their camp after tying up the supervisor to his bed and jumping into a cab. They were apprehended after trying to ditch the cab without payment and 13 of the escapees have already been returned.
The Chinese government is not only being criticized for the brutality of the camps, but now their intentions behind their crusade against internet addiction is being questioned. Many have now begun saying that the government's true inspiration is to censor what "netizens" can view on the internet.

Chinese boot camps

As we know, the Chinese have been battling internet addiction using a combination of sympathy with discipline, in a military-style boot camp near Beijing. They use a blend of therapy and military drills to help the youth that are addicted to online gaming, internet pornography, cybersex and chats. Li Yanlin says that he watched a student's grades plunge after becoming addicted to internet games. After several weeks of "rehab" the student recognized the falseness of online gaming. The Chinese government are also taking steps in banning new internet cafes and mulling restrictions on violent computer games.

Now, out of that bit that I got from that article, it sounds neat for what the Chinese are trying to do for their youth addicted to the internet. However, I am a libertarian, and I don't think that government has to step in to make these corrections. It is up to the people to decide to do something about it because each one of us is different in every way. However, this should influence the youth to get in this boot camp but on their own will, not against it. I believe that this camp is very helpful, and honestly, it makes better people. But for a government to take these steps like so, I just don't support that.

The government in reality can't do too much because for one, the population in China alone is a lot more than they can count. They can put regulations on certain sites but there is always a way around it for that the education of the youth continues to grow and they will find ways to crack the codes that block certain sites. Think of all the proxy sites the US alone has. I remember in High School when we were at the library, they would have Facebook blocked for students to access, but a friend of mine showed me that you can google the proxy and therefore utilize the proxy and gain access to about any website that the school restricts. We had to be careful because we risked expulsion if we got caught.

The only thing I would say is to just find a way to influence the population into rethinking a step back to change their ways, and not force them against their will. I know a team will only work when everyone is committed, but some you can't force them. If anything, parental influence has a big role in how our youth acts in the first place. I know my parents would beat me if I were to step out of line. If anything, I am the disciplined man that I am today if it weren't for my parents. But thats just me.