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Hydras First
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I think this is the write place to put this.
But anywho, South Korea opens its new Online Gaming Addition Center/Rehab for those obessed gamers. Heres more on the stuff.
| QUOTE | MOKCHEON, South Korea The compound part boot camp, part rehab center resembles programs around the world for troubled youths. Drill instructors drive young men through military-style obstacle courses, counselors lead group sessions, and there are even therapeutic workshops on pottery and drumming.
But these young people are not battling alcohol or drugs. Rather, they have severe cases of what many in this country believe is a new and potentially deadly addiction: cyberspace.
They come here, to the Jump Up Internet Rescue School, the first camp of its kind in South Korea and possibly the world, to be cured.
South Korea boasts of being the most wired nation on earth. In fact, perhaps no other country has so fully embraced the Internet. Ninety percent of homes connect to cheap, high-speed broadband, online gaming is a professional sport, and social life for the young revolves around the PC bang, dim Internet parlors that sit on practically every street corner.
But such ready access to the Web has come at a price as legions of obsessed users find that they cannot tear themselves away from their computer screens.
Compulsive Internet use has been identified as a mental health issue in other countries, including the United States. However, it may be a particularly acute problem in South Korea because of the countrys nearly universal Internet access.
It has become a national issue here in recent years, as users started dropping dead from exhaustion after playing online games for days on end. A growing number of students have skipped school to stay online, shockingly self-destructive behavior in this intensely competitive society.
Up to 30 percent of South Koreans under 18, or about 2.4 million people, are at risk of Internet addiction, said Ahn Dong-hyun, a child psychiatrist at Hanyang University in Seoul who just completed a three-year government-financed survey of the problem.
They spend at least two hours a day online, usually playing games or chatting. Of those, up to a quarter million probably show signs of actual addiction, like an inability to stop themselves from using computers, rising levels of tolerance that drive them to seek ever longer sessions online, and withdrawal symptoms like anger and craving when prevented from logging on.
To address the problem, the government has built a network of 140 Internet-addiction counseling centers, in addition to treatment programs at almost 100 hospitals and, most recently, the Internet Rescue camp, which started this summer. Researchers have developed a checklist for diagnosing the addiction and determining its severity, the K-Scale. (The K is for Korea.)
In September, South Korea held the first international symposium on Internet addiction.
Korea has been most aggressive in embracing the Internet, said Koh Young-sam, head of the government-run Internet Addiction Counseling Center. Now we have to lead in dealing with its consequences.
Though some health experts here and abroad question whether overuse of the Internet or computers in general is an addiction in the strict medical sense, many agree that obsessive computer use has become a growing problem in many countries.
Doctors in China and Taiwan have begun reporting similar disorders in their youth. In the United States, Dr. Jerald J. Block, a psychiatrist at Oregon Health and Science University, estimates that up to nine million Americans may be at risk for the disorder, which he calls pathological computer use. Only a handful of clinics in the United States specialize in treating it, he said.
Korea is on the leading edge, Dr. Block said. They are ahead in defining and researching the problem, and recognize as a society that they have a major issue.
The rescue camp, in a forested area about an hour south of Seoul, was created to treat the most severe cases. 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.)
The camp is entirely paid for by the government, making it tuition-free. While it is too early to know whether the camp can wean youths from the Internet, it has been receiving four to five applications for each spot. To meet demand, camp administrators say they will double the number of sessions next year.
During a session, participants live at the camp, where they are denied computer use and allowed only one hour of cellphone calls a day, to prevent them from playing online games via the phone. They also follow a rigorous regimen of physical exercise and group activities, like horseback riding, aimed at building emotional connections to the real world and weakening those with the virtual one.
It is most important to provide them experience of a lifestyle without the Internet, said Lee Yun-hee, a counselor. Young Koreans dont know what this is like.
Initially, the camp had problems with participants sneaking away to go online, even during a 10-minute break before lunch, Ms. Lee said. Now, the campers are under constant surveillance, including while asleep, and are kept busy with chores, like washing their clothes and cleaning their rooms.
One participant, Lee Chang-hoon, 15, began using the computer to pass the time while his parents were working and he was home alone. He said he quickly came to prefer the virtual world, where he seemed to enjoy more success and popularity than in the real one.
He spent 17 hours a day online, mostly looking at Japanese comics and playing a combat role-playing game called Sudden Attack. He played all night, and skipped school two or three times a week to catch up on sleep.
When his parents told him he had to go to school, he reacted violently. Desperate, his mother, Kim Soon-yeol, sent him to the camp.
He didnt seem to be able to control himself, said Mrs. Kim, a hairdresser. He used to be so passionate about his favorite subjects at school. Now, he gives up easily and gets even more absorbed in his games.
Her son was reluctant at first to give up his pastime.
I dont have a problem, Chang-hoon said in an interview three days after starting the camp. Seventeen hours a day online is fine. But later that day, he seemed to start changing his mind, if only slightly.
As a drill instructor barked orders, Chang-hoon and 17 other boys marched through a cold autumn rain to the obstacle course. Wet and shivering, Chang-hoon began climbing the first obstacle, a telephone pole with small metal rungs. At the top, he slowly stood up, legs quaking, arms outstretched for balance. Below, the other boys held a safety rope attached to a harness on his chest.
Do you have anything to tell your mother? the drill instructor shouted from below.
No! he yelled back.
Tell your mother you love her! ordered the instructor.
I love you, my parents! he replied.
Then jump! ordered the instructor. Chang-hoon squatted and leapt to a nearby trapeze, catching it in his hands.
Fighting! yelled the other boys, using the English word that in South Korea means the rough equivalent of Dont give up!
After Chang-hoon descended, he said, That was better than games!
Was it thrilling enough to wean him from the Internet?
Im not thinking about games now, so maybe this will help, he replied. From now on, maybe Ill just spend five hours a day online. |
What if the country you live in gets these and your sent to one?
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| 11/21/07 17:03 |
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mr47
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i would prolly get sent. :\
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| 11/21/07 17:07 |
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Chrisworld
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| QUOTE | | i would prolly get sent. : |
I might get sent i dunno...however i would still play because it dosent take over my life and i have rights to do what ever i wish.
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| 11/21/07 17:08 |
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mr47
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i think i just dont have anything better to do. i would much rather be at the movies or playing paintball.
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| 11/21/07 17:13 |
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Future Man
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i actually just independently read that article
my favorite quote is Fighting! yelled the other boys, using the English word that in South Korea means the rough equivalent of Dont give up!
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| 11/21/07 17:17 |
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cswella
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It's true that there are kids who seriously need to cut back on the gaming, dropping dead of exhaustion isn't healthy behavior.
But I worry about the overreactions of the parents of some of the normal kids.
Panda Points x 7
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| 11/21/07 17:25 |
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Hydras First
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| QUOTE |
But I worry about the overreactions of the parents of some of the normal kids. |
I dont call 17 hours a day normal for me...
We wonder, "Why?" when we lose friends, and there are never any good answers.
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| 11/21/07 17:29 |
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mr47
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| QUOTE | | QUOTE |
But I worry about the overreactions of the parents of some of the normal kids. |
I dont call 17 hours a day normal for me... |
maybe 3 or 4 for me...
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| 11/21/07 17:30 |
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Teh Real Jamie
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| 11/21/07 17:34 |
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cswella
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| QUOTE | | QUOTE |
But I worry about the overreactions of the parents of some of the normal kids. |
I dont call 17 hours a day normal for me... |
I didn't claim the kid in the story was normal....
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| 11/21/07 17:35 |
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Hydras First
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| QUOTE |
I didn't claim the kid in the story was normal.... |
It didnt claim he wasnt normal...
We wonder, "Why?" when we lose friends, and there are never any good answers.
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| 11/21/07 17:36 |
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cswella
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| QUOTE |
It didnt claim he wasnt normal... |
Misunderstood text.
Double Negatives removed.
Result: "It did claim he was normal..."
______
What?
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| 11/21/07 17:38 |
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Chrisworld
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I have around 1600 Hrs in gw, but that dosent mean im an addict, i only really play a few hrs a day, maybe at most 5 and some days not at all? I would say gaming dosent "ruin" my life.
I hate the parents that form their own little cults for hating games.... it annoys me to no end.... sorry but: "stop the violence, stop the violence" "video games make kids kill each other" just dosent seem to be correct.. I cant even believe they blamed the incident at Virgina Tech on video games, we all know that Cho was obviously insane and had some mental issues but of course, like Teenagers and Video Games are always bashed at for...we were automatically targeted for a scapegoat. Wonderful.
-Chris
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| 11/21/07 18:08 |
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Belshazaarswrath
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| QUOTE | I have around 1600 Hrs in gw, but that dosent mean im an addict, i only really play a few hrs a day, maybe at most 5 and some days not at all? I would say gaming dosent "ruin" my life.
I hate the parents that form their own little cults for hating games.... it annoys me to no end.... sorry but: "stop the violence, stop the violence" "video games make kids kill each other" just dosent seem to be correct.. I cant even believe they blamed the incident at Virgina Tech on video games, we all know that Cho was obviously insane and had some mental issues but of course, like Teenagers and Video Games are always bashed at for...we were automatically targeted for a scapegoat. Wonderful.
-Chris |
That's the way things go. Negligent parents cruel peers and generally crappy lives are the real reasons kids are having major problems. Maybe one in 500000 kids have gaming as the TRUE source of their problems(at first at least). Lots of kids use it as an escape and then they need that escape and if they are using it for long enough they need it even when the problem is solved.
Metal and Video games the universal scapegoats...
Although I will admit things on the television (from the news and video games included) does influence kids...it desensitizes them to violence...and when your a teen that is when you are most impressionable. That to an EXTREME degree mixed with very painful social problems along with poor parenting and Bada bing bada boom 20 dead people in a room.
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| 11/21/07 18:24 |
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Hydras First
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| QUOTE |
I hate the parents that form their own little cults for hating games.... it annoys me to no end.... sorry but: "stop the violence, stop the violence" "video games make kids kill each other" just dosent seem to be correct.. I cant even believe they blamed the incident at Virgina Tech on video games, we all know that Cho was obviously insane and had some mental issues but of course, like Teenagers and Video Games are always bashed at for...we were automatically targeted for a scapegoat. Wonderful.
-Chris |
When did they say that the shooting at Virgina Tech was due to video games?
We wonder, "Why?" when we lose friends, and there are never any good answers.
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| 11/21/07 20:26 |
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smokebam_07
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| QUOTE |
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how did you do that?
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| 11/21/07 20:28 |
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Skittle Cody
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| QUOTE | | QUOTE |
I hate the parents that form their own little cults for hating games.... it annoys me to no end.... sorry but: "stop the violence, stop the violence" "video games make kids kill each other" just dosent seem to be correct.. I cant even believe they blamed the incident at Virgina Tech on video games, we all know that Cho was obviously insane and had some mental issues but of course, like Teenagers and Video Games are always bashed at for...we were automatically targeted for a scapegoat. Wonderful.
-Chris |
When did they say that the shooting at Virgina Tech was due to video games? |
They said he played games like GTA, Counter Strike, etc.
But lets not go into that anymore please.
Buy me a giraffe <3
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| 11/21/07 20:31 |
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smokebam_07
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what pisses me off the most is when i bust my ass at school,the gym, on the court,on the track,and fighten my brother because he takes my spot on the couch and when i get on the computer or xbox my mom sais how im spendin to much time on these and my mind is getting warped and then i just wanna slap that hoe!!!!
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| 11/21/07 20:35 |
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sleep_FTW
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| QUOTE | | online gaming is a professional sport |
my kinda sport, i'd be on varsity.
xD
and in rehab.
O.o i;d be just like Darrel Strawberry.
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| 11/21/07 21:06 |
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Chrisworld
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lol games just dont get a chance
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| 11/21/07 21:13 |
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Teh Real Jamie
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| QUOTE | | QUOTE |
.._ΈΈ_.
.|―'-*-
........'..*
..~' ' ― ' ' ~
.―*
. *
_ΈΈΈΈ_
―"-
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how did you do that? |
BY having no social life whatsoever
***THIS POST HAS BEEN EDITED***
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| 11/21/07 21:56 |
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Rogue
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I wish I didn't have a social life so I could be cool like you Jamie.
IGN: Rogue Mysst. Guest me for GvG.
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| 11/21/07 23:17 |
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mr47
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| QUOTE | | I wish I didn't have a social life so I could be cool like you Jamie. |
my friend had a program that changed a photo to ascii art. it was pretty intense. he changed optimus prime into ascii O_o
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| 11/21/07 23:31 |
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Seth Oneil
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^^; I used to be an addict.... I was addicted to xbox live, I played for so long that the headset outline was imprinted into my head....
I have recently kicked the addiction and don't really play games all that much anymore.....
Unfortunately.... I drink now ^^;
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| 11/22/07 00:46 |
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