Science and Health
SKorea targets Internet addicts; 2 million hooked
(Agencies)
Updated: 2010-04-23 07:00
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The ministry urged top game providers to monitor users by their national ID numbers, which include their ages, and to allow parents to check whether their children are using their IDs to play after hours.
And starting next year, gamers will be able to install free programs onto their computers that limit their access to the Internet, the government said last month.
"Government policies are important but it's also crucial for the public to take charge as well," said Lee Young-ah, an official at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. "We want to alert as many people as possible on the seriousness of Internet addiction so that individuals can start monitoring themselves."
Nexon, a major South Korean gaming company, says the curfew is a first step in the battle against Internet addiction.
"We want to create a healthy culture of enjoying our games and not suffering from them as an illness," said Nexon spokesman Lee Young-ho.
The government has earmarked 10 billion won ($9 million) to educate the public about the dangers of Internet addiction and to fund counseling centers for the web-obsessed.
Park, the director of the I Will Center, warned precocious school-age gamers will find a way to get their fix.
"Clever kids know how to work their way around any hurdles to gaming, and I am sure they can quickly find a way to get around this one as well," she said. Her counselors visit elementary schools to teach children about safe Internet usage in hopes of preventing Internet addiction early on.
Lee Mi-hwa says she is counting the days until the curfew goes into effect in the fall.
She said her son stays up most nights posing online as "Julian," a handsome, dragon-slaying superstar who saves his beautiful princess girlfriend from fire-spitting monsters.
By day, he's sullen and unresponsive, flunking his classes and unable to communicate with his family except with screams and blows, she said as her son sat nearby, immersed in his computer game.
Lee says she's desperate for any measure that might bring her son out of his Internet bubble.
"I'm hoping that this new curfew will be (his) saving grace," she said, wiping away tears with her sleeve.
