The Ministry of Health and Welfare is considering classifying Internet addiction and gaming disorders as mental disorders, the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) said on Wednesday.
The ministry would be following the WHO’s lead, as the UN organization has said that it intends to classify “gaming disorder” as an official mental health condition in its International Classification of Diseases due to be published later this year.
Internet addiction is a growing problem in Taiwan, with an estimated 1.05 million Internet users aged 12 and older classified as at risk of becoming addicted, according to a report on Internet addiction released by the National Development Council in July last year.
Among the Internet users at risk, 200,000 are high risk Internet users who had failed to engage in any outdoor activities or interact with friends for more than one month prior to being interviewed, the report said.
Meanwhile, the percentage of at-risk Internet users aged 12 and older increased from 3.5 percent in 2016 to 5 percent last year, it said.
At-risk Internet users spend an average of 4.8 hours per day online and believe that surfing the Web is a good way to relieve stress, achieve spiritual satisfaction and make new friends, the report said, adding that 54 percent are male and 46 percent female, while 40.9 percent hold a bachelor’s degree.
People aged 30 to 39 had the highest proportion of at-risk users with 29.9 percent, followed by people aged 20 to 29 with 21.1 percent, those between 40 and 49-years-old with 17.1 percent, people aged 50 to 59 with 15 percent and people 12 to 19 years of age with 11.4 percent, the report said.
New Taipei City had the largest share of at-risk Internet users at 17.7 percent, followed by Taichung at 12.1 percent, Taipei at 11.8 percent, Kaohsiung at 11.7 percent and Taoyuan at 9.6 percent.
Service sector employees and salespeople accounted for the largest share of at-risk Internet users with 19.8 percent, followed by students at 16.8 percent.
The survey was conducted by telephone from June 16 to July 5 among 1,508 Internet users aged 12 and older.
A NT$39 receipt for two bottles of tea at a FamilyMart was among the NT$10 million (US $312,969) special prize winners in the January-February uniform invoice lottery. FamilyMart said that two NT$10 million-winning receipts were issued at its stores, as well as two NT$2 million grand prizes and three NT$200,000 first prizes. The two NT$10 million receipts were issued at stores in Pingtung County and Yilan County’s Dongshan Township (冬山). One winner spent just NT$39 on two bottles of tea, while another spent NT$80 on water, tea and coffee, the company said. Meanwhile, 7-Eleven reported three NT$10 million winners — in New Taipei
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
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