Pages

Friday, May 23, 2008

Nanometer Wave Machines

From a collection of pictures on National Geographic taken by Fritz Hoffman.

Counseling, military discipline, drugs, hypnosis, mild electric shocks, and hideous head gear in Guangdong province capital city Guangzhou come together to battle addictions.

The poor addict sitting second from the right is a slave... to the Internet. I was wondering how much time logged online constitutes an addiction, so I did a little digging around.

It's not in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, but apparently there are guidelines using the diagnostic standards for pathological gambling.

So far, no sign of an explanation as to how these helmets work. A nanometer (nm) is one-billionth of a meter, smaller than the wavelength of visible light and a hundred-thousandth the width of a human hair. So whatever they do, its on a tiny scale.

Think you may need to shove an ugly helmet on your head? Here are the criteria:
The patient must meet all of the following criteria:
  • Person is preoccupied with the Internet (thinks about previous online activity or is anticipating the next online session).
  • Person needs to spend longer and longer periods of time online in order to feel satisfied.
  • Person has made unsuccessful efforts to control, cut back, or stop Internet use.
  • Person is restless, moody, depressed, or irritable when attempting to cut down or stop Internet use.
  • Person repeatedly stays online longer than he or she originally intended.
The person must meet at least one of the following criteria:
  • Person has jeopardized or risked the loss of a significant relationship, job, educational or career opportunity because of Internet use.
  • Person has lied to family members, a therapist, or others to conceal the extent of involvement with the Internet.
  • Person uses the Internet as a way of escaping from problems or of relieving an unpleasant mood (such as feelings of helplessness, guilt, anxiety, or depression).
Where are you? Need a helmet? Check out the poll to the right.


Update: The poll is closed, but there are definitely a lot of us in need of head gear. LOL!

1 comment:

  1. Artículo sobre tratamiento de adictos al Internet en español: http://www.baquia.com/noticia/relacionada/9905/1/china-abre-una-clinica-para-adictos-a-internet/

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for the comment!

A L E R T

The NONEXISTENT Rockway Press Short Story Contest

Rockway Press never actually posted the winners of the 2007 contest. Their site has entirely disappeared, and they're on the Preditors and Editors list.