Minors are also banned from entering net cafes during the hours’ from 9 a.m.

In South Korea, for example, children under 16 are banned from online games between the hours of midnight and 6 a.m. Ultimately, writes Higuchi, it's important to be proactive. Admission to the hospital - reserved for patients believed to most susceptible to a relapse into their former habits - generally lasts for two months. Numerous studies have showed this condition can impact on the limbic system, which controls desire and emotions, and makes it more difficult for such children to be dealt with using normal disciplinary measures at home or in school.Īt the camp conducted at Higuchi's facility, children who go for counseling spend 8 nights and 9 days completely disengaged from the internet, climbing the local hills, fishing or looking at the stars at night. Such young people have been found to have a lower than average volume of gray matter in their frontal lobes than other children of the same age. Research of addicted gamers indicates that functioning in the brain's frontal lobe - the section responsible for controlling reason and logic - will decline. Lack of physical activity can even lead to a decrease in bone density. Those suffering from addition might show symptoms of sleep deprivation, insecurity and falling grades at school.

In one extreme case, in six months the charges came to 2 million yen.Ī 2017 survey by the health ministry found that smartphone dependence been growing, with 12.5% of middle school and 16.0% of high school students found to be addicted - a 1.8-fold increase over the survey of five years earlier. Some children used their parents' credit card to order games or pay for updates. In many cases, medical intervention was requested by parents after their child flew into a rage after confiscating the phone or attempting to limit its use.

Many of the minors used their smartphones to play online games late into the night, virtually reversing their nights and days. Most surprising, Higuchi writes, is that about 70% of patients were minors, with half in middle and high school and the remaining half in primary school - with a few as young as 2nd grade. The center was moved to begin treating internet addiction after a survey by the health ministry in 2008 estimated that Japan had some 2.75 million addicts - roughly equivalent to the population of Osaka. In 2011 Higuchi's facility, located in Yokosuka City, became the first of its kind in Japan to treat internet dependence on an outpatient basis.Īlthough originally established to treat people for alcoholism, about 1,500 patients a year receive treatment for internet addition, making it the largest facility of its kind in the country. For those severely affected, a natural return is unlikely, making some form of intervention necessary. But he's got a problem with the ministry's action because the potential demerits of phone use were not touched upon.Ĭhildren's addiction to the internet has been a growing problem, with implications for their physical health and social behavior. Higuchi, who heads the Kurihama Medical and Addiction Center in Kanagawa Prefecture, concedes that their having a phone is helpful for parents to know their children's whereabouts. Writing in Shukan Shincho (Oct 29) Dr Susumu Higuchi notes that the education ministry last summer issued an advisory that junior high school students would be permitted to carry their smartphones to school. But at the same time there are negative aspects and it's important to strike a balance.' 'Of course information technology (IT) is important.

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