South Korea sends ‘internet-addicted’ children to digital detox boot camps

South Korea has the highest rate of internet addiction in the world and it is increasingly the country's children who are spending every waking moment immersed in fantasy role play or gaming. The government sees it as a national health crisis and is now taking drastic measures to help the country's 2 million addicts. They have set up a network of boot camps across the nation to offer the kids of Korea a digital detox.
One of the basic ideas at the camp is to rebuild connections back to the real world and weaken ties to the virtual one to reclaim a childhood lost to the computer. The job of the counsellors there is to get the kids to think about a future beyond the smartphone or iPad; to show them other possibilities and ultimately to try and bring back dreams and hopes that have
South Korean psychiatrists are urging more action as they are finding evidence too much screen time is damaging developing brains. Professor Kang Seak Young from Dankook University said the addiction was damaging critical thinking.
"It effects the frontal lobes which are important for critical analysis," Professor Kang said.
"Reading a book where one is guessing what happens in the story next shows activity in frontal lobes but playing internet games shows no activity."
South Korea is most wired nation on Earth. Virtually every home is connected with cheap high-speed broadband. But it does have a cost , one in 10 kids are addicts, so the country is now learning how to manage and moderate its high-tech future.