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Staff Reporter
Two out of every 100 primary and secondary schoolers are seen as being addicted to the Internet, with the number reaching 100,000, according to a report Friday.
The addiction is more common among elementary schoolchildren, and a much larger number of students are showing signs of becoming addicts.
About 1.9 percent of the 5.2 million elementary, middle and high school students surveyed, or some 99,500, are ``Internet addicts,'' Rep. Lee Sang-min of the minor opposition Liberty Forward Party said, quoting an education ministry report.
Symptoms of students categorized as addicts include using the Internet for more than four hours a day, having problems with personal relationships and difficulties in study and daily life. It was also claimed they experience withdrawal symptoms when not using the Internet.
Elementary schoolchildren were more prone to Internet abuse ― 2.3 percent of the fourth to sixth graders surveyed, or 39,500 students among 1.7 million, said they were addicted to the Internet.
``Students get addicted to the Internet because of games, online community, chatting, or blogs. Elementary school students have more difficulty than secondary school students in their restraint in using the Internet. Their Internet use may hurt their physical and mental health without help and proper education,'' Rep. Lee said.
The report also showed another 320,000 students are exposed to the possibility of becoming Internet addicts. Even if not categorized as addicts, these students use the Internet for three hours per day, and show similar symptoms to those of addicts.
According to the Internet Addiction Counseling Center under the Korea Agency for Digital Opportunity and Promotion, the center gave counseling to 73,000 students last year. ``Parents take their children to the center. Students themselves usually deny they are Internet addicts, saying they have no problem using the Internet,'' Koh Young-sam, head of the center, said.
The center makes students undergo a self-survey and mental health checkup, interviews them and their parents, and gives counseling to them once a week. ``Rather than pressuring them to change their Internet use habit, we try to have them reflect on their attitude and make the voluntary decision to change the habit,'' Koh said.
rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr
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