Do I need to join the Korean boot camp too?

Apparently I fit the description of an addict; apparently I’m truly at-risk…or so the New York Times article on Korean bootcamps for cyberaddicts informs me. “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.” Sounds really familiar…of me checking my email every five minutes, of me getting all worked up that I don’t have access to the Net the other day, preventing me from watching the latest SNL spoof…my life had almost come to a stop. I guess my membership to this club should be confirmed then? But 2 hours really? Is there a super-membership as I believe I break a higher bar than that.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/18/technology/18rehab.html?em&ex=1195621200&en=ae5b633804a5ee6b&ei=5087

South Korea, with their savvy Net loving citizens are now in a crunch. They need to wean their population off the Net juice so to speak. Kids are dropping out of school it seems just to stay online…or worse, “dropping dead.” The government saves the day. Rescue camps have sprung up all over the place by the government to remind their people that pottery and drumming are not such bad alternatives. Seriously though, going by this, many of us with Net access are spending such time online, making us more the norm than the deviant entity in society. If kids are dropping out of school, lets focus on how schools are engaging/disengaging them versus shifting all the blame to online compulsions. The same behavior seen by them when they grow up will be perceived as having a great “work ethic.” After all, I don’t see boot camps springing up anytime soon for worker bees online…

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