Officials warn of addictive nature of surfing online

As the Internet grows in popularity, psychiatrists at National Taiwan University Hospital yesterday warned about Internet addiction, saying that at least 15 percent of local Internet users are addicted.

Those who spend an average of 30 to 40 hours per week online have been characterized as "addicts" by the psychiatrists.

"Most of the Internet addicts [in Taiwan] are male high school or college students who have poor interpersonal relationships and low self-esteem," said Shang Chih-yung (商志雍), a hospital psychiatrist.

"About 34 percent of Internet addicts usually suffer from anxiety, while about half of them are also addicted to alcohol or drugs," said Tsai Wen-che (蔡文哲), another psychiatrist at the hospital, adding that Internet addicts often show other disorders.

Shang also suggested that parents should not reject the Internet simply because they are unfamiliar with it.

"Surfing the Internet has become a part of modern life," Shang said. "Parents should learn how to surf online in order to understand their children and to better understand modern life."

According to Nippy Huang (黃士杰), a university student in Taipei, he spends an average of three hours online a day. But many of his friends spend much more time on playing online games at Internet cafes.

According to a survey conducted by the ToSun Foundation (向陽公益基金會) last year, more than half of Taiwan's high school students have been to Internet cafes. About 400,000 students visit Internet cafes at least once a week and spend an average of eight-and-a-half hours there.

Among these young people, about 120,000 are considered to be addicted to online games.