Some of us are a little more reliant on the Internet than others, but one of the pitfalls appears to be the number of hours children are spending online. And Japan is doing something about it.
Adults too are guilty of spending far too much time online – think of the amount of people in bars and restaurants on their smart phones as a prime example – but of greater concern is the growing number of children that spend an inordinate amount of time on the Internet. Not only physically is it unhealthy, but socially it is affecting their development.
With that in mind, Japan has decided to introduce Internet ‘fasting camps’ to tackle the issue as the government estimates that more than 500,000 children between the ages of 12 – 18 are suffering from an addiction.
“It’s becoming more and more of a problem,” Akifumi Sekine, a spokesman for the ministry, told The Daily Telegraph
“We want to get them out of the virtual world and to encourage them to have real communication with other children and adults,” he added.
The camps will cut off all access to the Internet and youngsters will be encouraged to take part in outdoor activities, team sports and games, with psychiatrists and clinical psychotherapists on hand to provide counselling should the transition back into the real world prove too traumatic.
Studies have linked over-use of the Internet to sleep and eating disorders, depression, deep vein thrombosis and a serious effect on school performance.
So once you have got your fill of JOE, don’t over-do it online and take a break. We could never live with the guilt.
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