Word: taos
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Though the fledgling disorder has been widely identified, defining it in China has not been easy. Tao Ran, director of the Beijing treatment center and a colonel in the People's Liberation Army (PLA), helped come up with a strict definition of Internet addiction last fall: consecutive usage of the Web for 6 hr. a day for three straight months is addiction. The new standard, which is still pending official endorsement by the Ministry of Health, has aroused widespread skepticism in Chinese cyberspace, with many arguing that too many people could be wrongly categorized as Internet addicts under this definition...
...murky guidelines have not stopped anxious parents like Wang from dragging their children to Tao's camp, a grim, four-story building in Beijing's major military compound. Once checked in, most patients are required to stay for three months, without access to the outside world, cell phones or, of course, computers. But unlike in other similar camps, parents of patients at the Internet Addiction Center have to stay at the camp to receive "treatment" too - because, according to Tao, Internet addiction is often a result of parenting mistakes. For most families, providing this treatment to a child is already...
...time, it gets more comfortable and peaceful." Despite the small steps he's made, like eating a diet that consists of something other than instant noodles, the Beijing native admitted he still got upset too easily and was "afraid of people" - two signature symptoms of Internet addiction, according to Tao. "I think life in this camp has definitely calmed me down to some degree," says Yang. "But I'm far from ready to get out, since I don't know what to do with my life...
...into the prestigious Tsinghua University. He says he became so obsessed that he skipped all his classes for an entire semester and eventually received academic warnings from the school. As many as 30 students from Beida and Tsinghua - China's most storied universities - have been to the camp, says Tao, and it's becoming an increasing trend among students from other top schools. "Our kids are all very special and intelligent," says the PLA colonel. "It's only normal for people to make detours when they're young. Our mission is to help them get back on track before...
...boot camp, an 18-year-old boy was ready to leave after months of strenuous training. As part of the camp's tradition, he hugged every one of his fellow patients. "It's certainly an emotional moment for the kids, as they have bound together over the months," says Tao. "And to me, it's especially rewarding to see them step out of here with all the confidence that they deserve...