Concern grows over Internet addiction; governments are starting to look into the issue and develop treatment

(REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon)A man plays a computer game at an internet cafe in Beijing May 9, 2014. As growing numbers of young people in China immerse themselves in the cyber world, spending hours playing games online, worried parents are increasingly turning to boot camps to crush addiction.

South Korea is undoubtedly one of the most wired and technologically advanced countries in the world. After all, this is the country that has given us Samsung and LG. But in the midst of these advancements lies a change that is causing alarm for the Korean government and Korean parents — internet addiction.

What is more alarming is that this is not just solely a South Korean problem, China has also raised the alarm on this. It is also a growing concern among American parents.

Internet addiction is not recognized or considered a mental illness (yet) but health officials and medical practitioners are coming to understand and consider the need for developing therapy and treatment for it.

While the need to always be connected — to check our emails, post to social media or chat with friends — might seem to be the norm now, excessive use of technology and the Internet can actually impact our lives, just like the way drugs, alcohol, gambling and other addictions do.

The compulsion or need to be online can result in a deterioration of a person's physical health, can cause emotional distress, lowers productivity at work, contributes to poor performance in school and most of all, it can become a major obstacle to developing emotional intimacy with a fellow human being.

People who are considered to be addicted to the Internet also manifest symptoms similar to alcoholics or drug users, like compulsive use of social media, obsessive gaming and irritability, restlessness, anxiety and anger when one is denied access to the internet.

China and South Korea have already started addressing the problem. The two countries, notorious for the millions of internet cafes that operate there, have already instituted various therapies and treatments. Aside from mandated rehabilitations, wilderness programs and cognitive behavior therapy are also being used.

South Korea has even gone one step further and has enacted the "Cinderella Act" or "Shutdown Law." Under this law, children under the age of 16 are banned from logging into gaming websites from midnight until 6am. And anyone who wishes to access those gaming sites would have to log in using their national ID.

Internet addiction is not solved by simply avoiding the internet. It's about understanding what drove people to spend hours at a time online and to work on addressing those issues.

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