Chinese More Likely To Be Web Addicts
As Ali G. once said, “Yo. Science. What is it all about? Is it good or is it whack?” In some cases, it really is whack, like when it’s misused to support political beliefs or assertions that are overtly unreasonable, racist or absurd. I’ll give you an example relating to China. In August, Ben Goldacre, author of the “Bad Science” column at the Guardian UK, wrote about two Italian scientists who published an article in the reputable academic journal Medical Hypotheses titled “Down subjects and Oriental population share several specific attitudes and characteristics.” Rather than curing cancer or AIDS, these two scientists spent their time proving that people with Down’s Syndrome are more closely linked biologically with Asians than with white people. One of the parallels between the two groups cited was “Down subjects adore having several dishes displayed on the table, and have a propensity for food which is rich in monosodium glutamate (M.S.G.).” This is an example of science that truly is whack.
Most of the time, as a former science teacher, I find that science is not only good, but fundamental in helping us to understand those phenomena in life that cannot be be explained. One such phenomenon is Web addiction in China. Anyone who’s ever stepped foot into a Internet Cafe in China late at night has witnessed the same obsessive behavior and powerlessness one would find described in an AA handbook. A new study, rooted in science, found that Chinese people are more likely to be addicted to the Internet than Americans. The IAC/InterActiveCorp conducted a survey earlier this month in which they asked 2100 users aged 16 to 25, Chinese and American, how they felt about their own personal Web habits. Here are the results of the survey as published in a Reuters story Monday:
The survey found that 42 per cent of users in China said they at times felt “addicted” to their web use compared with 18 per cent of U.S. users…Nearly 25 per cent of Chinese users said they would not be able to spend more than a day without the internet compared with 12 percent of U.S. participants…Less than a third of Americans said the internet contributes to their social life, but 77 per cent of Chinese users said the web helped them make friends…Nearly three-quarters of Chinese users said they were free to do and say things online that they would not do in the real world, compared with 32 per cent of U.S. users.
I believe this last point is most crucial in understanding Internet addiction in China. The Internet affords the Chinese user an anonymity and freedom of expression not found in what is referred to as “the real world.” In a country where video, music and news is censored, it seems logical that the Web, where you can access pretty much anything, holds such power over Chinese users. Plus, the Internet has video games. And you don’t need a scientist to tell you how addictive video games are.
•Reuters: Chinese More Likely to Be Web Addicts: Study
•Photo: Kate Thorpe’s Flickr Page