Lingling, a 19 year old girl from Henan recently died at a Zhengzhou treatment school for Internet addiction after being “treated” by instructors for two years. Another14 year old girl also sustained serious injuries from treatment. These incidents have once again aroused great concern over these Internet addiction treatment centers as this kind of tragedy has occurred more than once in the past and the media has covered many similar abuse cases.

It has been reported that 90 percent of Internet addiction treatment centers use corporal punishment. This has resulted in the death of several students. Why does this tragedy keep reoccurring? Which treatment centers are involved and which people carry out the treatment? How can the government monitor these kinds of treatment centers? Through a survey of different Internet addiction treatment centers, reporters found that the market is in a state of chaos without any kind of qualifications needed, standards to abide by or auditing.

A myriad of methods to fight addiction

In Tongzhou, a village near Hebei, a group of children participate in military training in a slightly shabby courtyard. The students practice basic boxing and shout loudly. The door of the courtyard is locked with chains. The students, seeing outsiders enter the courtyard, bow together and shout “Hello Sir! Miss!” in unison. The teacher says that this is part of the etiquette rules of the treatment center.

On the side of the courtyard, two small doors lead to the children’s dormitory. The dormitory door is locked from the outside: this is the rule here, almost every door needs to be unlocked to be opened. The small courtyard is surrounded by a wall with mounted cameras and is topped by shards of glass. In the dorm rooms, the bed sheets are folded neatly on ten army-style beds. The room is simple with almost no extra storage. The teacher says that when students come into the treatment center they are not allowed to bring in any kind of electronics.

“Beijing Encouragement and Enlightenment Education Advisory Center” helps children overcome their addictions and return to a “normal” state. The teacher says that military training is one of the most basic methods to help students overcome their addiction. This means that the management of the school must be militarized as well.

There is no fixed syllabus for these kinds of treatment centers and no standardized treatment protocols. In the investigation, I visited a number of Internet addiction treatment centers and found that different agencies used a variety of diverse methods. Besides military training, psychological counseling and therapy is one of the most basic methods used by many treatment centers. Olympic Mental Hospital, for example, has psychologists that do specialized treatments for those diagnosed as addicts. In addition to military training and psychological counseling, internet addiction treatment centers also offer their own customized courses, such as English and maths. One center even offered a course whereby parents jointly attend sessions with their child.

Military-style camps

The set-up at internet addiction centers is quite confusing, with so-called professional counselors, veterans, cultural teachers and a number of administrative teachers from all over the country all calling these centers their workplace. However, physicians are noticeably rare at these places.

Military veterans are the most commonly seen type of staff members at the addiction centers. When a reporter visited the Qidelizhi Education Advisory Center, he found that the veterans came from other provinces and many were involved in relief efforts during the Wenchuan earthquake and Urumqi incidents. Now, they spend their days “treating” Internet addicts. One gentle looking officer said that he has a lot of authority and as long as he stands [near the patients], nobody dares to talk. 

The China Youth Mental Development Base is a self-proclaimed internet addiction organization. However, in this 40-man strong center, only three are clinicians; the remaining staff are counselors and veterans. Why don’t they hire more medical professionals? One person at the center claimed that three clinicians were adequate and that their role is to prescribe and administer the medicine. The key to successful treatments, according to this person, is proper psychological counseling. Moreover, in his team some of the administrative staff members and veterans have qualifications in counseling. 

However, the majority of teams who work under the guise of “Internet addiction treatment”, do not have one single nurse or doctor in their team, nor do they cooperate with any medical professionals. In the event of a medical emergency, or when a patient’s temper is hard to control or they sustain an injury, the team’s response is to send them to the nearest hospital for treatment. The center will also help the patient get medication.

Corporal punishment is difficult to avoid 
Non-standard treatment may also be hidden behind potentially violent methods. Of the 12 treatment centers visited by media, over 90% used corporal punishment on patients. One staff member from an addiction center said that the children who come to their center were sent by their parents: “No children come willingly on their own. However, some kids were tricked into coming to a center by their parents, while others were brought in through collaboration with the parents.”

One reporter from Beijing Youth Daily, who went undercover to experience life at a treatment center first hand, confirmed that the use of corporal punishment was prevalent at these places and that they were not being monitored. A large number of these treatment centers adapt a management system whereby children must completely detach themselves from their parents and where parents can only inquire about their children by calling a counselor. According to an employee from the Qidelizhi Education Advisory Center, in the first two months of being admitted into the center, students frequently have confrontations with teachers. When students absolutely don’t obey, teachers are permitted to carry out “additional therapy” to defuse the situation.

In order to avoid suspicion of using corporal punishment, the China Youth Mental Development Base asks parents to accompany their children throughout the entire process. However, even then friction occurs between students and teachers. “We have a rule: when a student hits a teacher, he/she cannot hit back. I give teachers a bonus of 1000 RMB for abiding by this rule,” Tao Ran, an employee at the base, says.

“As far as treatments for Internet addiction goes, there is absolutely no clear standard nor is there an official examination to determine the condition. However, there is a huge demand for Internet addiction treatment in today’s society, which has led to a chaotic, unregulated market. The majority of treatment centers are non-medical institutions,” says Cui Yonghua, a pediatrician at the Yongan Hospital who has treated many so-called “Internet addicts”.