The controversial cure
As Chinese society becomes increasingly saturated with social media, more and more parents find themselves sending their web-addicted child to one of the over 300 "Internet addiction boot camps" in the country. They spend as much as 9,000 US dollars for a six-month treatment in one of these military-style camps run by public hospitals or private clinics.
The introduction of such treatment centers has not been without controversy – there have already been a number of deaths in similar facilities, and in 2016 a 16-year-old girl tied her mother up until she starved to death as an act of revenge after she was abused for four months in one of the camps.
Patients have claimed that they are regularly beaten for not following orders, have been intentionally sleep-deprived, forced to do military drills and practical work, and were given electroshock therapy as part of the programs.
In 2009, the Ministry of Health called for a stop to barbaric treatments such as physical restraints. Earlier this year, the State Council drafted laws which could ban the use of specific treatments such as electric shocks.
Parents to blame?
In the wake of the latest incident, critics have taken to Weibo to not only criticize the center but also the parents of the unfortunate young man. "In the end this is due to a lack of family education," said one commenter.
"It makes no sense for parents to blame the games for the children's addiction," said user Xielaoban. "They have to teach their children not to get addicted."
Guangming Daily commented by saying, "Some parents, upon discovering the problem, fail to reflect on their responsibility to educate, and instead want to seek third parties' help in solving the problem."
