1. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2013
    Messages:
    18,385
    Likes Received:
    7,080
    Location:
    Ralph's side of the island.

    Web Junkies - Rehab in China

    Discussion in 'The Lounge' started by GingerCoffee, Jul 14, 2015.

    Watching POV (a PBS program) right now about an Internet addiction bootcamp in China and it's mind boggling. So many insights into a culture that a fair amount of is not much different from ours, except it is still different in some ways.

    Web Junkies

    The comments about the program add an interesting addition.
     
    Hubardo likes this.
  2. Scrib

    Scrib Active Member

    Joined:
    Oct 12, 2013
    Messages:
    134
    Likes Received:
    24
    Location:
    Berlin, Germany
    shame I can't watch the full programme where I am, the trailer looks interesting
     
    Wreybies likes this.
  3. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    May 1, 2008
    Messages:
    23,826
    Likes Received:
    20,815
    Location:
    El Tembloroso Caribe
    Once, long ago, I called this place home:

    [​IMG]

    ;)
     
  4. Scrib

    Scrib Active Member

    Joined:
    Oct 12, 2013
    Messages:
    134
    Likes Received:
    24
    Location:
    Berlin, Germany
    maybe you need to visit again, you can have a picnic on the airfield now :pop:
     
  5. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

    Joined:
    May 1, 2008
    Messages:
    23,826
    Likes Received:
    20,815
    Location:
    El Tembloroso Caribe
    Yes! It's a park! I always loved Berlin's dedication to parkland within the city. :agreed:
     
  6. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2013
    Messages:
    18,385
    Likes Received:
    7,080
    Location:
    Ralph's side of the island.
    Took me a minute to solve this puzzle.:superconfused::superthink::superidea:
     
  7. Song

    Song Active Member

    Joined:
    Jul 19, 2015
    Messages:
    188
    Likes Received:
    74
    Location:
    Hearts in China, Heads in the UK
    As someone who has only just left China and consider it my home having lived their for 5yrs, I can safely say internet addiction is nothing compared to mobile phone addiction. Most people in China don't even have a computer, if they are rich enough they have an ipad (everyone is apple mad out there) or they just use their phone (usually an iphone 4s). There are still lots of net cafe's there known as 网吧 which means net bar, but I have never seen anyone ever go into one.

    When I go out for a night with friends there is usually 2 out of 5 that will just have their nose in their phone for most of the night. They will take some photos to put on their social network/IM (usually 微信) and then post it and wait for updates.
     
    Aaron DC and Hubardo like this.
  8. GingerCoffee

    GingerCoffee Web Surfer Girl Contributor

    Joined:
    Mar 3, 2013
    Messages:
    18,385
    Likes Received:
    7,080
    Location:
    Ralph's side of the island.
    In the documentary, none of the boys had their own computers, they all went to net cafes. Very interesting.
     
  9. Song

    Song Active Member

    Joined:
    Jul 19, 2015
    Messages:
    188
    Likes Received:
    74
    Location:
    Hearts in China, Heads in the UK
    Average wage in China is around 3000 yuan, which is around $450 dollars. Many live in a small apartment which they share. So a lack of money and personal space makes a computer a little impractical. It is changing though as the middle class is growing at a scary rate.
     
  10. Hubardo

    Hubardo Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Feb 22, 2014
    Messages:
    1,079
    Likes Received:
    574
    I lived in Beijing for a month and got really depressed seeing how the really beautiful parts of Chinese culture seem to be getting crushed under the weight of the rat race. In the US we talk about how the American Dream is dead. We talk about the "poverty trap." It's true, but in Beijing it's like that on steroids... or some drug I don't know the name for. In China it seems so hopeless to me. I can see why internet addiction is even more hardcore there than here. Tradition and community is being torn to shreds, and people are becoming extremely isolated. I mean, that's an outsider's analysis of it. I was the privileged foreigner staying with middle class Chinese people who had couchsurfing profiles, who spoke perfect English and worked either in technology or entertainment. These people seemed very happy and social and engaged but then my friend took me through the hutongs, the thousands of people sleeping on concrete slabs with no water or electricity, losing their teeth, starving. It was kind of traumatizing seeing how poor the majority of people were. I had dreamed of learning Mandarin and teaching environmental science to children. 30 days later I flew back home, ashamed and full of grief. If I were them I would live inside a virtual world instead of a real one any day.
     
    Last edited: Aug 4, 2015
  11. Song

    Song Active Member

    Joined:
    Jul 19, 2015
    Messages:
    188
    Likes Received:
    74
    Location:
    Hearts in China, Heads in the UK
    Yeah you see the whole spectrum of life living in China. I liked it, kept me grounded and made me appreciate what I had instead of whining alot. As someone that did learn chinese and hung out in the different lesbian bars in my city, I really got to become part of the real flow of the country. I refused to speak English in China. It was the way I learnt who my friends were. English speakers only tend to meet the shiny fake happy people that are putting on a face for the public. As a Chinese person I got to see behind that face. Despite it's flaws I love China, there is a beauty in how people pull together to get through adversity. The friends I made there were the closest I have ever felt to friends ever.
     
    Hubardo likes this.
  12. Lea`Brooks

    Lea`Brooks Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    May 11, 2013
    Messages:
    2,968
    Likes Received:
    2,007
    Location:
    Virginia, United States
    An old therapist of mine said that there are numerous quiet studies going on about how the internet/cell phones is going to effect people in the long run. The new generation is the only one that's really been born into a culture that has such easy access to technology, and professionals are curious to see how these children are as adults. Will they be cut off and socially awkward? Or just the same as the previous generation? Only time will tell.

    Back on topic though, my old roommate is in serious need of web rehab... He works, sleeps, and sits on his computer literally every single hour in between.
     
  13. Song

    Song Active Member

    Joined:
    Jul 19, 2015
    Messages:
    188
    Likes Received:
    74
    Location:
    Hearts in China, Heads in the UK
    We should find out soon, because anyone born in 2000 is now 15yrs old and they will have only known the internet and social networks.
     
  14. Hubardo

    Hubardo Contributor Contributor

    Joined:
    Feb 22, 2014
    Messages:
    1,079
    Likes Received:
    574
    There's already some research. This Huffpost article seems to sum it up, although I haven't checked the sources.

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/cris-rowan/technology-children-negative-impact_b_3343245.html

    So what is the impact of technology on the developing child? Children's developing sensory, motor, and attachment systems have biologically not evolved to accommodate this sedentary, yet frenzied and chaotic nature of today's technology. The impact of rapidly advancing technology on the developing child has seen an increase of physical, psychological and behavior disorders that the health and education systems are just beginning to detect, much less understand. Child obesity and diabetes are now national epidemics in both Canada and the U.S., causally related to technology overuse. Diagnoses of ADHD, autism, coordination disorder, developmental delays, unintelligible speech, learning difficulties, sensory processing disorder, anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders are associated with technology overuse, and are increasing at an alarming rate. An urgent closer look at the critical factors for meeting developmental milestones, and the subsequent impact of technology on those factors, would assist parents, teachers and health professionals to better understand the complexities of this issue, and help create effective strategies to reduce technology use.

    Four critical factors necessary to achieve healthy child development are movement, touch, human connection, and exposure to nature. These types of sensory inputs ensure normal development of posture, bilateral coordination, optimal arousal states and self-regulation necessary for achieving foundation skills for eventual school entry. Young children require 2-3 hours per day of active rough and tumble play to achieve adequate sensory stimulation to their vestibular, proprioceptive and tactile systems. Tactile stimulation received through touching, hugging and play is critical for the development of praxis, or planned movement patterns. Touch also activates the parasympathetic system lowering cortisol, adrenalin and anxiety. Nature and "green space" has not only a calming influence on children, but also is attention restorative and promotes learning.

    [​IMG]
    Further analysis of the impact of technology on the developing child indicates that while the vestibular, proprioceptive, tactile and attachment systems are under stimulated, the visual and auditory sensory systems are in "overload." This sensory imbalance creates huge problems in overall neurological development, as the brain's anatomy, chemistry and pathways become permanently altered and impaired. Young children who are exposed to violence through TV and video games are in a high state of adrenalin and stress, as the body does not know that what they are watching is not real. Children who overuse technology report persistent body sensations of overall "shaking", increased breathing and heart rate, and a general state of "unease." This can best be described as a persistent hypervigalent sensory system, still "on alert" for the oncoming assault. While the long term effects of this chronic state of stress in the developing child are unknown, we do know that chronic stress in adults results in a weakened immune system and a variety of serious diseases and disorders.

    [​IMG]
     

Share This Page

  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
    Dismiss Notice