It's

The 12 teenagers and young adults, some in ripped jeans and baggy T-shirts, sit in a circle, chewing gum and fidgeting as they shyly introduce themselves. "I'm 12 years old," one boy announces with a smile. "I love playing computer games. That's it." "It's been good to sleep" says another, a 17-year-old with spiky hair, now that he's no longer on the computer all day. <br /><br />The youths are patients at China's first officially licensed clinic for internet addiction, a downside of the online frenzy that has accompanied the nation's breathtaking economic boom. <br /><br />"All the children here have left school because they are playing games or in chat rooms everyday," says the clinic's director, Dr. Tao Ran. "They are suffering from depression, nervousness, fear and unwillingness to interact with others, panic and agitation. They also have sleep disorders, the shakes and numbness in their hands." <br /><br />According to government figures, China has the world's second-largest online population -- 94 million -- after the United States.

It's been good to sleep

The 12 teenagers and young adults, some in ripped jeans and baggy T-shirts, sit in a circle, chewing gum and fidgeting as they shyly introdu...

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The

Anthony Chan betrays the tell-tale signs of his addiction: his skin is pallid and covered in spots, he sits nervously hunched, peering to correct his blighted vision and he has trouble communicating with friends and family. <br /><br />At just 16 he is emotionally fragile, physically ill and his future has been compromised by the addiction which has him in its grip. But when the lights are switched off he gets online, he could not care less about the problems it brings. His drug is the Internet and, when connected, it makes the lonely Hong Kong schoolboy feel on top of the world.<br /><br />"The computer is my friend, it's my life, my social life," says Chan, shifting in his chair and squinting in the glare of the brightly-lit office where we talk. It is one of the few times this week he has left the confines of his bedroom where he spends hours and hours every day logged onto the Internet and he is missing it already, he says.

The computer is my friend, it's my life, my social life

Anthony Chan betrays the tell-tale signs of his addiction: his skin is pallid and covered in spots, he sits nervously hunched, peering to co...

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The

Anthony Chan betrays the tell-tale signs of his addiction: his skin is pallid and covered in spots, he sits nervously hunched, peering to correct his blighted vision and he has trouble communicating with friends and family. <br /><br />At just 16 he is emotionally fragile, physically ill and his future has been compromised by the addiction which has him in its grip. But when the lights are switched off he gets online, he could not care less about the problems it brings. His drug is the Internet and, when connected, it makes the lonely Hong Kong schoolboy feel on top of the world.<br /><br />"The computer is my friend, it's my life, my social life," says Chan, shifting in his chair and squinting in the glare of the brightly-lit office where we talk. It is one of the few times this week he has left the confines of his bedroom where he spends hours and hours every day logged onto the Internet and he is missing it already, he says.

The computer is my friend, it's my life, my social life

Anthony Chan betrays the tell-tale signs of his addiction: his skin is pallid and covered in spots, he sits nervously hunched, peering to co...

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Timeless

lives are were shattered by an overwhelming compulsion to surf the Net, play MUD games, or chat with distant and invisible neighbors in the timeless limbo of Cyberspace

Timeless limbo of Cyberspace

lives are were shattered by an overwhelming compulsion to surf the Net, play MUD games, or chat with distant and invisible neighbors in the ...

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Average

Average age of first Internet exposure to pornography 11 years old <br />Largest consumer of Internet pornography 35 - 49 age group <br />15-17 year olds having multiple hard-core exposures 80% <br />8-16 year olds having viewed porn online 90% (most while doing homework) <br />7-17 year olds who would freely give out home address 29% <br />7-17 year olds who would freely give out email address 14% <br />Children's character names linked to thousands of porn links 26 (Including Pokemon and Action Man)

Average age of first Internet exposure to pornography 11 years old

Average age of first Internet exposure to pornography 11 years old Largest consumer of Internet pornography 35 - 49 age group 15-17 year old...

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Pornographic

Pornographic websites 4.2 million (12% of total websites) <br />Pornographic pages 420 million <br />Daily pornographic search engine requests 68 million (25% of total search engine requests) <br />Daily pornographic emails 2.5 billion (8% of total emails) <br />Internet users who view porn 42.7% <br />Received unwanted exposure to sexual material 34% <br />Average daily pornographic emails/user 4.5 per Internet user <br />Monthly Pornographic downloads (Peer-to-peer) 1.5 billion (35% of all downloads) <br />Daily Gnutella "child pornography" requests 116,000 <br />Websites offering illegal child pornography 100,000 <br />Sexual solicitations of youth made in chat rooms 89% <br />Youths who received sexual solicitation 1 in 7 (down from 2003 stat of 1 in 3) <br />Worldwide visitors to pornographic web sites 72 million visitors to pornography: Monthly <br />Internet Pornography Sales $4.9 billion

Pornographic websites 4.2 million (12% of total websites) size of the problem

Pornographic websites 4.2 million (12% of total websites) Pornographic pages 420 million Daily pornographic search engine requests 68 millio...

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On the web I'm ashamed of myself

"...on the web I'm ashamed of myself. I lack discernment, since to have any would probably mean to no longer look at it at all.<br /><br />I find I will easily read things on the web I am not particularly interested in in much the same way as I used to slump down and watch crap on TV when I had one. I don't know why this is. The web seems interactive and more engaging than TV, yet I will sit there and read for hours on end pages and pages of flabby paragraphs, badly written, talking about nothing of any importance. Arguments that haven't been thought through, written there and then and chucked onto the web like so much trash down a chute. And yet I will read this day after day, even after deciding it is just a waste of my time. Why is that?"

On the web I'm ashamed of myself

"...on the web I'm ashamed of myself. I lack discernment, since to have any would probably mean to no longer look at it at all. I f...

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the effects of addiction will eventually eat into your life causing lots of problems to yourself and others around you

I never once considered the long-term effects of "taking up internet use". Can you imagine the Government Health Warning slapped onto the side of computers like a cigarette pack? I suspect most smokers didn't consider the effects of nicotine addiction before they took their first few puffs. Addiction isn't immediately apparent... and the symptoms don't immediately sing and dance for your attention. Importantly though, the effects of addiction will eventually eat into your life causing lots of problems to yourself and others around you... yes, this includes being addicted to the internet.

the effects of addiction will eventually eat into your life causing lots of problems to yourself and others around you

I never once considered the long-term effects of "taking up internet use". Can you imagine the Government Health Warning slapped o...

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used the internet to escape a negative mood, much in the same way that alcoholics might.

numbers of people are being identified who hid their nonessential internet use or used the internet to escape a negative mood, much in the same way that alcoholics might.

used the internet to escape a negative mood, much in the same way that alcoholics might.

numbers of people are being identified who hid their nonessential internet use or used the internet to escape a negative mood, much in the s...

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