Jump Up Boot camp for Korean internet addicts

You know you're playing to much World of Warcraft when your family signs you up for an Internet addiction boot camp. Korea says 30 precent of the population under 18, is at risk for Internet addiction. Internet addiction is classified as spending more than two hours a day online, as well as 'anger and craving when prevented from logging on.'

Don't worry, South Korea's got you covered. Military-like obstacle courses, poetry, music and the ever popular "My name is (insert name),  and I'm addicted to the Internet" group meetings. The boot camp, called Jump up, encourages youngsters log out of Yahoo Messenger, Everquest, or Myspace and get outside. There are also 140 new Cyberspace addiction counseling centers thought South Korea, for those who relapse.

I would say the average US citizen spends more than two hours a day on the Internet. Whether for work or play, a lot of communication and socializing has been taken over by cyberspace. Maybe we should start a few Internet addict boot camps here in the US. We could get celebrities to come out and speak, we could sleep in tents, run obstacle courses - and when we get home we'll blog about it.

In Korea, a Boot Camp Cure for Web Obsession [via Kotaku]