Major issues of our time
The South Korean government is getting tough on internet addicts because
of health concerns
The government thinks it has about two million web addicts and will
offer two types of software - a consensual shutdown programme and one
called Internet Fatigue.
Consensual shutdown limits usage to a time set by a guardian or user.
Internet Fatigue makes games harder as time goes by so that the player
becomes bored.
The idea is part of a plan drawn up by the Ministry of Public
Administration and Security to combat internet addiction.
It is all sparked by the recent case of a couple who left their baby
daughter to starve to death at home while out at an internet cafe,
playing marathon sessions of an online game that ironically simulates
child-rearing.
South Korea will offer gamers and other internet addicts free software
from next year to limit the time they spend on the web, the prime
minister's office said on Tuesday. The new plan will offer education and counselling. The government says
8.8 percent of internet users are addicted, and hopes to reduce that to
five percent by 2012.