The 22,500-person survey by the China Youth Association for Network Development found that 13 per cent of younger users are addicted to the Net. Of that figure, 17 per cent of surveyed male users and 10 per cent of female users are addicts.
The survey defines an addict as someone happier in the virtual world than in the real one, someone frustrated or at a loss when you can’t access the Net or someone whose cyber life intrudes on your work, study or personal relationships.
The three-month study found that most addicts were between 13 and 17 years old and either in junior high school or vocational school. The findings show that 23.2 per cent of the surveyed junior high school students are addicts.
The China Internet Network Information Centre said 103 million Chinese people were online as of the end of July and that 15.8 percent were minors. Ten years ago, almost no one was online.
Chinese officials periodically warn citizens against Net use, particularly in cybercafes, where only users 18 or older are allowed online and where viewing of pornography and anti-government statements are banned.
