China rejects rhetoric on internet addiction

This is an interesting development coming out of China:

China's health ministry has turned down the country's rhetoric on internet addiction, and has warned against "boot camp" style approaches for habitual web abusers.

The ministry has issued guidelines for "inappropriate use of internet" saying there was no precise definition of internet addiction, state news agency Xinhua reports.

There are at least a couple of good things coming out of this. Not only is it cracking down on the quackery of the net addiction treatment industry that is proliferating rapidly in China, but it's also (and more importantly) questioning the rhetoric behind addiction, what it is, and whether or not it is appropriate to apply in the case of digital lifestyles. A few researchers like Peele, Alexander, Schaler, recently Clark, have critiqued the cut and paste nature of addiction diagnosis and treatment, including 12-step.