Is the internet turning some youngsters into zombies who cannot interact face to face with society? A new book says the answer maybe yes. “Once the cucumber is pickled it can not go back to being a cucumber.” The book, “Irresistible”, by New York University Professor Adam Alter offers solutions along with warnings.
China was the first country to declare internet addiction a clinical disorder, Professor Alter writes. Now the country has more than 400 treatment centres. Professor Tao Ran heads one at the Beijing Military Hospital: “Internet addiction is a cultural problem among Chinese teenagers. It has surpassed any other problem.” Professor Tao said children today “think the real world isn’t as good as the virtual world…. Some kids are so hooked on games they think going to the bathroom will affect their performance. So they wear a diaper. They are the same as heroin addicts — they crave and look forward to playing every day. That’s why they call it ‘electronic heroin’. “
Professor Alter cites a nasty experiment with kittens to show what can happen to young brains. Psychologists at John Hopkins put some very young kittens in boxes with vertical or horizontal lines painted on the walls. The kittens were confined in the boxes for long periods. When released the kittens could not function normally. They banged into things and couldn’t follow moving objects unless they made a noise. The cats as they became were effectively blind to whatever they had not been exposed to in the first few months of their lives. The researchers said they thought the cats, brains pickled at the formative stage, would never recover.
Virtual reality will soon immerse youngsters and some adults even deeper in online seclusion. “VR will allow us to spend time with anyone in any location doing whatever we like for as long as we like,” Alter quotes the writer Steven Kotler. “That sort of boundless pleasure sounds wonderful, but it has the capacity to render face-to-face interactions obsolete. Why live in the real world with real, flawed people when you can live in a perfect world that feels just as real?” These kids have missed out on the chance to interact face to face and develop social skills. They have no problem interacting with peers online, but can’t carry a conversation with someone sitting across from them. “How do you learn to talk and flirt and date and end up in bed if you’ve only mixed with other people online?”
The book “Irresistible” explains how online game developers psychologically manipulate players. The champion is Shigeru Miyamoto who designed Super Mario Bros and Pokemon. Now with smart phones these games, eg FarmVille, Kim Kardashian’s Hollywood and Candy Crush, ensnare the gullible 24 hours. Playing some of these games daft punters pay real cash for virtual cash. Sai Kung’s Chief Inspector Danial Tsang has told BUZZ of regular complaints about virtual cash that didn’t turn up.
“Irresistible”, a thought-provoking book, can be found at Sai Kung’s bookshop, Kidnapped.
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