A 13-year-old junior-high student has been diagnosed with Internet addiction after her parents said she was frequently daydreaming, and had poor concentration and acne.
The case was discussed by Taiwan Association for Prevention and Treatment of Internet Addiction director-general Chang Li-jen (張立人), who is a psychiatrist at National Taiwan University Hospital.
The girl often played online games on her smartphone while pretending to be studying at home and continued playing after going to bed at night when her parents thought she was asleep. A long-term lack of sleep led to an endocrine disorder, such as acne.
A Ministry of Health and Welfare survey of more than 5,000 students from elementary to university level last year showed that 2.8 percent of the students were “highly addicted” to online games.
The survey, conducted by a research team at National Taiwan University’s psychology department, suggested a gender difference in online game addiction, with 5.7 percent of male students and 0.7 percent of female students showing severe addiction.
It also showed that, on average, more elementary and junior-high school students — 3.1 percent and 3.2 percent respectively — are addicted to online games, compared with senior-high school and university students — at 2.7 and 1.8 percent respectively.
University psychiatrist Lin Yu-hsuan (林煜軒) said the survey considered not only the amount of time a person spent online to assess their online addiction, but also if they showed symptoms of “wanting to stop, but being unable to control themselves,” and if the behavior had negative effects on their studies, health or relationships.
The ministry suggests people set how much time they use the Internet and try to keep the restriction or spend less time online. It urged parents to seek to understand how their children are using the Internet to ensure online safety and help them cultivate other recreational habits.
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