1 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:07,400 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works. A brain 2 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:11,240 Speaker 1: stuff is Christian Seger. In South Korea, public health officials 3 00:00:11,240 --> 00:00:16,040 Speaker 1: have identified internet addiction as a full blown national epidemic. 4 00:00:16,360 --> 00:00:20,479 Speaker 1: An estimated one in ten Korean teenagers is believed to 5 00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:24,160 Speaker 1: be in the grips of an online addiction, mostly gaming, 6 00:00:24,440 --> 00:00:28,360 Speaker 1: but also pornography and social media, and the Korean government 7 00:00:28,480 --> 00:00:32,520 Speaker 1: spends millions of dollars to help kids get clean at 8 00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:37,880 Speaker 1: hundreds of residential rehab centers. The problem maybe even worse 9 00:00:37,960 --> 00:00:41,800 Speaker 1: in China, where state agencies estimate that twenty four million 10 00:00:41,920 --> 00:00:45,440 Speaker 1: youth are hooked on the Internet, sometimes spending three days 11 00:00:45,479 --> 00:00:50,400 Speaker 1: straight encrowded cyber cafes on gaming vendors. China was the 12 00:00:50,479 --> 00:00:54,400 Speaker 1: first to recognize internet addiction as a clinical disorder in 13 00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:57,840 Speaker 1: two thousand eight, and has tried to curb the problem 14 00:00:57,880 --> 00:01:02,560 Speaker 1: through military style boot camps that some critics equate to prisons. 15 00:01:03,040 --> 00:01:07,560 Speaker 1: Controversial tactics have led to several deaths, most recently an 16 00:01:07,600 --> 00:01:10,720 Speaker 1: eighteen year old who is allegedly beaten to death within 17 00:01:10,920 --> 00:01:16,360 Speaker 1: forty eight hours of checking in to a Chinese rehab facility. Now, 18 00:01:16,400 --> 00:01:20,360 Speaker 1: outside of Asia, internet addiction is still met with some 19 00:01:20,520 --> 00:01:25,080 Speaker 1: skepticism by the public and the psychiatric community. Citing the 20 00:01:25,160 --> 00:01:29,360 Speaker 1: latest research on internet addiction in Western countries, the American 21 00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:33,840 Speaker 1: Psychiatric Association says that point three to one percent of 22 00:01:33,880 --> 00:01:39,800 Speaker 1: the general population might qualify for a potential acute diagnosis 23 00:01:39,840 --> 00:01:43,759 Speaker 1: of Internet gaming disorder. As of right now, there's only 24 00:01:43,840 --> 00:01:48,280 Speaker 1: one residential treatment center in the United States exclusively for 25 00:01:48,480 --> 00:01:54,440 Speaker 1: technology addictions. Opened in two thousand nine. Restart offers long 26 00:01:54,560 --> 00:01:59,560 Speaker 1: term treatment programs for both adults and adolescents aged thirteen 27 00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:03,280 Speaker 1: to seven teen, and it's designed to detox residents from 28 00:02:03,320 --> 00:02:08,440 Speaker 1: their online addictions in transition back into healthier lives. The 29 00:02:08,520 --> 00:02:11,880 Speaker 1: decision to enter a program like Restart is almost always 30 00:02:11,919 --> 00:02:15,400 Speaker 1: made by parents who fear for the health and safety 31 00:02:15,440 --> 00:02:18,320 Speaker 1: of an adolescent or adult child who is living his 32 00:02:18,560 --> 00:02:23,239 Speaker 1: entire life online and yes, his is an accurate pronoun. 33 00:02:23,639 --> 00:02:27,760 Speaker 1: In eight years, only seven women have passed through the program. 34 00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:32,760 Speaker 1: Residential treatment for technology addiction is modeled after residential rehab 35 00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:37,880 Speaker 1: programs for substance addictions like alcohol or drugs. For those 36 00:02:37,919 --> 00:02:41,960 Speaker 1: that stay, Restart seems to work. According to a Restart 37 00:02:42,000 --> 00:02:46,720 Speaker 1: Parents survey from only eight point three percent of parents 38 00:02:46,760 --> 00:02:49,680 Speaker 1: said that their family member was able to control their 39 00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:54,840 Speaker 1: technology use before entering Restart. When asked the same question 40 00:02:54,960 --> 00:02:58,560 Speaker 1: up to two years post treatment, sixty one percent of 41 00:02:58,600 --> 00:03:03,280 Speaker 1: parents said their family member was extremely, moderately or slightly 42 00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:07,600 Speaker 1: able to control their Internet and digital media use. That 43 00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:13,600 Speaker 1: leaves around thirty percent who relapsed. Unlike alcoholism or drug addiction, 44 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:16,840 Speaker 1: where former addicts avoid any and all contact with their 45 00:03:16,880 --> 00:03:21,400 Speaker 1: addictive substance, former Internet addicts need to use computers and 46 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:24,360 Speaker 1: smartphones in order to function in the modern world, and 47 00:03:24,800 --> 00:03:29,000 Speaker 1: that can be very difficult, but it's doable. Since Internet 48 00:03:29,120 --> 00:03:33,440 Speaker 1: or other technology addictions aren't recognized as clinical disorders, they're 49 00:03:33,440 --> 00:03:37,560 Speaker 1: not covered by insurance, and programs like Restart are not cheap. 50 00:03:37,800 --> 00:03:42,080 Speaker 1: A forty five day intensive stay runs about twenty five 51 00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:46,400 Speaker 1: thousand dollars or five hundred and fifty dollars a day. 52 00:03:46,720 --> 00:03:51,640 Speaker 1: Even if technology addiction was recognized by the American Psychiatric Association, 53 00:03:52,040 --> 00:04:00,760 Speaker 1: it's unlikely that treatment centers would even accept insurance. Today's 54 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:04,080 Speaker 1: episode was written by Dave Ruce, produced by Dylan Fagan, 55 00:04:04,160 --> 00:04:06,920 Speaker 1: and For more on this and other topics, please visit 56 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:21,600 Speaker 1: us at how stuff Works dot com.