Since China opens its border to internet, it has to face new problems. Even if the government tries to control the access to information, the development of new technologies and consequently communications allow more and more Chinese to go on internet. If many young Chinese use internet to watch videos, to discuss online, to put messages on forums there is also a part of this youth who are becoming e dependent, they suffer from a strong addiction and there parents send them to detoxification. It becomes more and more difficult for the authorities to control all the slippages and this dependence is a real social issue.
Since the nineties China has open its border to internet, but the government continues to control the access of information, there is still a censorship. It exists six national internet operators which offer Internet service providers, of course these are submitted to the party policy. There is a lot of websites about 300 000 and keywords which are forbidden, you cannot find free information about Tibet for instance. But internet is hard to regulate and the government is taking the issue seriously. The internet coffees, the Internet service providers need to have a license of the Ministry of information and if they don’t respect the party direction they can be closed fast. Indeed there is a special ministerial department which oversight drifts, this police is counting near 30 000 agents, and 250 000 Honkers who are supposed to intervene, orient discussion in forum but also to refer the drifts, some internet consumers are therefore arrest for their internet “subversive” use.
If the government is trying to control internet to regulate information, and other problem is rising. The addiction of the youth to internet and more especially for online games. Indeed, last months we have heard stories of a young Chinese boy who killed his parents because they were trying to stop him from playing, or another one who killed an eleven year old girl to steal her money for playing. If these kinds of horrible stories also occurred in occidental countries the problem seems to be huger in China and authorities are taking the problem seriously. We will mainly focus then on the reasons of these addictions; why Chinese youth is more addicted to internet?
Nowadays, there are about 25 millions addicted teenagers to internet, 15% of the young internet consumers, most of these young are addicted to online games. These youth find on internet and games a way to flee the reality, they can be someone behind there screens, they are for instance free to be gold level in Counter Strike, and they will be respected, they are free to communicate with other people easily. In a communist regime which control all ways of life, internet offers freedom.
This social issue reflects the Chinese society, the result of the regime. At school, children are under pressure, it’s a competitive world and if you don’t succeed, you will not be recognized by your environment. At home it’s the same; you have to succeed at school to be recognized. The education is still very traditional, and a shift separates the generation. The parents doesn’t now how to respond to their only child and if they use the old authority, there is more chance that their children will be revolted. That’s why a lot of parents which cannot handle with their children send them to specialized camps. But these camps are not a solution and their methods have been denounced by a lot of reports, for instance the use of electroshocks.
China has well protected its country for having access to every kinds of information on the internet, even if new technologies always improve communication, the regime also always improve its protection, and very good hackers are working for the government. But even if there is a control, communication is broader and broader, and the government cannot stop people exchanging their opinions about basic things. Moreover, addicted behaviors with internet show a social issue of a society which need to evolve, to put one foot in modernity.
We can hope that internet will show the necessity of a more democratic regime, not only for us but mainly for them.
Raphaël Gibour
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