A new plan to prevent Internet addiction as well as online gambling was revealed by the South Korean government. The plan is suppose to help fight addiction among the nation's student population. It includes providing educational materials, group counseling, and dedicates one day every week in which students will not be able to use the Internet for recreational purposes.
South Korea's Ministry of Information and Communication will double its efforts of educating to healthy internet use and will now be educating 200,000 students from 600 schools across the country.
In addition to educational materials, professional counselors will visit schools to assess the overall extent of Internet addiction among students. Group counseling will be offered six times a year to those in peril of addiction.
20 schools have already voluntarily adopted an "Internet-free day". During this week, students will not be allowed to use the Internet for recreation for one day of the week. This will have an effect on 17,000 students.
The Ministry also plans to team up with the ministries of Education and Human Resources, Culture and Tourism, and the Youth Protection Committee to promote a variety of contests, recreational activities, and campaigns in order to give students an substitute to Internet use for recreation.
This campaign is one of several moves initiated by South Korea in order to hold back the increase in online gambling in the nation. The government has recently blocked access to 53 online gambling sites, and has so far blocked access to 180 sites since January.
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