Inside A Korean Rehab Camp For Web Addiction 131
caffeinemessiah writes "The New York Times has a story about a Korean kids' camp for 'curing' Internet addiction. 'Seventeen hours a day online is fine,' said one such kid at the camp. From the article: 'Drill instructors drive young men through military-style obstacle courses, counselors lead group sessions, and there are even therapeutic workshops on pottery and drumming ... this year, the camp held its first two 12-day sessions, with 16 to 18 male participants each time. (South Korean researchers say an overwhelming majority of compulsive computer users are male.)'"
Re:So let me get this straight... (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:addiction (Score:3, Interesting)
I am very easily addicted, and I definitely dont enjoy it. Being addicted to _anything_ wrecks havoc in a person's life, simply because you are spending so much time/energy on the thing you are addicted to, that other things in life are neglected.
What I really want to know : is addiction to substances any different from this kind of addiction (internet, games, slashdot)?
PS: I think i am an internet addict myself( over 15 hrs a day). Most of it lurking on slashdot.
Re:addiction (Score:5, Interesting)
We actually are much less than what we give ourselves credit for. We consider ourselves to be above our basic biochemical urges and impulses, however it's a constant struggle. Yet we choose to delude ourselves into believing that denying our desires to others somehow makes us a better human being. And we cast out from our society those that decide to act on them.
Where is our intelligence? Truly you have hit the nail on the head. Perhaps you don't like to think that often you don't know why you act in a certain manner, but more often than not this is the case. We can choose to believe that we are cool, rational beings, however often the reason behind a specific decision we make comes from deep inside some primitive part of our identity. Anyway, this gives us something to blame when things don't turn out the way we wanted...
so? what else is there to do? (Score:4, Interesting)
So here goes.
Addicted to computer games. Games that let you do more than any gov't/religion/philosophy will
ever let you do in "real" life.
I've played many computer games. virutal sex, virtual violence, virtual GOD, virtual CEO, etc, etc.
Did "real" life show me any of these things? FUCK NO!
"real" life taught me I'm nothing. That I would be better dead, or not born at all.
"real" life taught me that being "different" is a fucking shit crime.
"real" life taught me that speaking out against authority is SO evil its called terrorism.
"real" life taught me that people who drink are more powerful than non-drinkers.
Real life is a joke. Real life can kiss my fucking ass.
The computer, aka simulator, aka simulacrum, enables me to do what "real" life would never
let me do.
I have learned that everything is possible outside "real" life.
"real" life is SO limiting. You can't do this without $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ Money.
what? oh? SO you are a fucking dictator.
I see.
You can't do this without permission? WHAT THE FUCK? Since when do I need your permission?
Nothing but power games. Some people think freedom is here.
Freedom isn't here. It isn't anywhere.
The prisoners of capitalism, democracy, communism, dictatorships, moderators, religion, etc.
Humans are prisoners of their own BRAIN.
Humans are bred to be authority driven. Its so easy to boss people around. Its not enough funny.
You are addicted to computer games? Oh, so?
Your addicted to "real" life. Your addicted to systems of slavery that have been here for at least 10 thousand years.
Your still addicted to food, air, sex, social gatherings, sleep, etc.
"real" life is slavery.
Games allow you to do what you want. Period.
Good or Evil becomes totally fulfilled.
In "real" life you have to fit in with the society. Be it cannibalism, stupid laws, stupid festivals, stupid mating games, etc.
Do you want to know the next "real" disasters?
Nuclear war is one of them.
Most of California will FALL into the ocean. lol. suckers.
Japan, New York, South Korea : ALL underwater. Gone. Obliterated.
War, Famine, Death, Plague : They will return with vengeance.
I forgot the superbugs. Heh heh. The weak will perish.
you want "real". You got it.
Lets see how you handle "real".
When these disasters become a reality, no one will say "I was right".
No one will be alive. rofl.
You can keep your "real" world.
I'm so glad Washington is on the soviets nuke target list. At least something good will happen.
ahhhh...no more white house. bwah hah hah.
Back to the topic :
addiction to computer games is far superior than addiction to the "real" world.
Freedom cannot be found when the chains of Man hold you down.
Freedom is not found in Man, homosapiens, etc.
Break free of the human brain.
FREEDOM!
Note : You are all slaves of space-time, matter, and this universe.
A prison you can see and taste and hear, yet are blind to it.
You accept this prison as "real".
Grow the fuck up.
Five human senses tell you everything ? Yeah, and ten fingers can hold 10000000000 tons without breaking.
Limited human intellect can tell you everything? Yeah, and I can make money on slashdot. LOL.
Let the flaming begin.
Assuming the ass moderators don't delete everything here. I wouldn't be surprised.
Censorship is rife throughout the world. Including the USA and Canada.
Freedom my ass.
Asia (Score:5, Interesting)
The need for such treatment camps is perhaps symptomatic of this underlying issue - that, life is so dull/boring that a virtual world is far more entertaining. You can take risks their, and noone will think less of you for it. (Noone out of the game, at least)
should be an easy job. (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:addiction (Score:5, Interesting)
I'll boil it down for you: Addiction is a psychological phenomenon wherein an addicted subject comes to focus on some external, directly reward-inducing activity to such a degree that it attenuates normal behavior, and the compulsion continues even in the face of negative consequences. In this usage, the term "normal" means the behaviors of the subject prior to the introduction of the external activity, but it also includes social and statistical norms, to some extent.
In other words, you're addicted when the particular activity or substance dominates your behavior, modifying the way that you live your life to a significant degree, and you don't stop the activity even when the bad consequences build up. An illustrative thought experiment is to take the addict and consider the opinion that his or her past self might have, looking forward in the future from the early days of use. If a guy who had maybe done coke once or twice had a vision of the future a la "A Christmas Carol", and saw himself five years later missing mortgage payments and losing his family because all he wanted to do is blow lines up his nose, how would he view the situation? Granted, this game doesn't model a lot of specific cases (such as adolescents), so take it with a grain of salt, but I think the point is pretty clear.
So, you see how the sex, air, and food examples don't really work, here. Consider that:
* I am generally receptive to sex, and sexual thoughts often enter my (male) mind.
* The act of sex causes me great pleasure when I engage in it.
* I would express disappointment at being denied sex, if I had some expectation of it at a particular time.
But also consider:
* I don't compulsively pursue sexual activity to the exclusion of working, socializing or engaging in other activities.
* My sexual activities don't cause large negative consequences to me, like my GF leaving me because I can't stop having casual sex with other women, or the cops picking me up for soliciting prostitutes.
* I'm pretty confident that my peers who share my general values regarding sexual activity (i.e., not hard-core Christians) would be OK trading patterns of sexual activity with me. Other people (caveat as given) don't generally look at my sexual behavior and go "Eew, that guy needs help."
Now, there ARE people who have sexual addictions, that have exactly that last set of problems I just mentioned. These aren't just people who like to have sex a lot, or who have high sex drives--these are people who are constantly trolling bars or cruising for hookers several nights a week, who lose their jobs after being warned about looking at porn at work and keep doing it. These are people who are ashamed of their actions, even in the company of generally sexually-liberated folks, and who often want to change their behavior but don't see a way out of it.
It's the same with booze, coke, heroin, gambling, cigarettes. Virtually everybody in college (in the US, anyway) engages in binge drinking, where you get blackout, puking drunk with your pals several nights a week for four straight years. Some of these people don't go to class, don't study, and fail out, while others finish up just fine (maybe not summa cum laude, but well enough) and graduate. When they leave college, some people grow up and start drinking more responsibly, while others keep doing it and end up sacrificing relationships, job performance, finances, etc. The bottom line is, some people who do it are addicted, and (usually) most people who do it aren't, a
Re:addiction (Score:5, Interesting)
My online friends have counted for quite a bit, and likewise they feel the same on the issue. Why anyone thinks a computer removes some of (or all) the humanity out of a person on the other end of communication is beyond me..
True, but [was Re:addiction] (Score:3, Interesting)
The problem I think also happens when people use the internet to replace human interaction; like I said, I use the internet for a few hours each day, but watching no internet and social during the day, it balances out eventually.
The question that needs to be asked - is why? why are they addicted to it? it isn't just as simple as "oh, he has an interests" - interests come and go, interests tend to have a finite limit on how long one can do that given interest before wanting to do something else.
Internet addiction tends to be the symptom of a much larger, more complex problem.
Re:addiction (Score:3, Interesting)
Well, mostly because online friendships tend to be shallower than real world ones. Perhaps if you are talking with a mic and webcam it's a close approximation to what you get in the real world, but so much of our communication comes thru the inflection of voice, posture, even just timing of replies. Typing messages back and forth just isn't as deep communication as being face to face with another human being.
This doesn't mean that having online friends is wrong or terrible... but if that's all you have, you are missing out on part of the human experience.
Re:Gold Farming... (Score:3, Interesting)
Dude, I'm from the UK so I've never played American Football, but I used to play rugby, and if you were to train at that for 17 hours a day, you'd be dead pretty soon. Give me Starcraft any day!