The drive put misleading ads in the crosshairs and also ordered developers to offer streamlined versions of their user interfaces.
Shangguan compared the campaign to "stepping on the gas", but she noted that now the time has come to "press the brake".
She said internet addiction is not an exclusively teenage issue, and urban retirees-many of them "empty nesters", who live apart from their adult children and are prone to loneliness-are also falling prey to addictive behaviors.
As such, she was concerned that excessive internet surfing can have severe health consequences. In response, she offered a solution: more ways to help seniors to have a decent social life in retirement.
Shangguan said the inadequate supply of educational and entertainment programs, allied to legal obstacles that bar aspiring retirees from the job market, are partly responsible for internet addiction among seniors.
Media reports said retirees have scrambled to enroll at colleges for seniors-government-funded institutions that target older people-due to a surge in demand.
Employers are technically unable to give formal jobs to older people because they cannot open social security accounts for workers who have passed retirement age.
As China "grays", politicians are discussing reforms that will allow older people to make themselves useful, such as raising the retirement age and encouraging older people to offer their services on a voluntary basis.
Shangguan and her colleagues have stepped up the design of community-based educational programs that teach calligraphy, dancing and painting.
She said the essence of such programs is to provide a place for seniors to socialize.
"I would bet few people in their 70s and 80s are expecting to pick up many skills at older people's colleges," she said. "They just need a place to meet people their own age and find a long-lost sense of belonging."
The programs have taken a foothold in 10 communities in Chengdu so far, and Shangguan said she wants to see the coverage triple this year.
