Sarah Williams August 25, 2014 1:35 PM
They call it “electronic heroin,” and China feels it’s the biggest threat to its teenagers.
網路被喻為「電子海洛英」,中國視之為對青少年最大的危害。
In 2008, China, which has over 20 million Internet addicts, became one of the first countries to declare the affliction a clinical disorder. Internet addiction has spawned the creation of over 250 camps within China designed to treat addicted youth.
The addiction problem, and China's attempts to treat it, has attracted the attention of Israeli filmmakers Shosh Shlam and Hilla Medalia, who released the documentary Web Junkie earlier this month.
在2008年,中國是第一個把「網路成癮」這種惱人狀況(affliction)宣布為(精神病學)臨床症狀(clinical disorder)的國家,現已有超過兩千萬人為網路上癮者(addict)。這產生很多(spawn)專門設計來治療青少年網路上癮的集中營,現已超過兩百五十個。
中國的網路上癮問題與中國治療網路上癮的做法,吸引了以色列製片人Shosh Shlam和 Hilla Medalia的注意。他們拍攝的紀錄片(documentary) 「網路癮君子(Web Junkie,暫譯)」在本月月初已發行。(編按:junkie一般指毒品上癮的人,給人一種眼神空洞、精神萎靡的「癮君子」形象;紀錄片名直接拿來指涉網路上癮的青少年。)
According to the 2008 report that defined the disorder, people who spend more than six hours online doing something other than work or study, and who feel bad when unable to access a computer, have what they call Internet Addiction Disorder.
Gaming appears to be the most addictive Internet behavior, with some gamers donning diapers so as to avoid bathroom breaks.
根據2008年定義網路成癮症的報告,在網路上非工作或學業花超過六個小時,且只要無法接觸電腦就覺得不安的人,即有所謂的網路成癮症(Internet Addiction Disorder)。
線上遊戲似乎是最容易讓人上癮的(addictive)的網路行為,有些人打電玩時甚至會穿上尿布(don diapers),只為避免上廁所的時間。
The trend has Chinese parents worried.
“I think China and especially Chinese parents take education very seriously,” said Eric Harwit, professor of Asian Studies at the University of Hawaii. “They saw a lot of teenagers, especially young male students, start to lose interest in school and devote much of their time to Internet gaming.”
Harwit said the parents of Internet-addicted youth are desperate to cure their offspring. Some even resort to drugging their kids to take them to the camps.
“They look to [the camps] as a kind of last resort for reforming their children, especially if it’s one child, the only child that they have, and giving them a chance to break their addiction to Internet games and hopefully then return to school and become more academically capable,” he said.
Harwit是夏威夷大學亞洲研究(Asian Studies)的教授。他表示,這些網路成癮者的家長都非常渴望治癒他們的子女(offspring),有些甚至不惜使用下藥迷昏的手段(resort to drugging . . .),為了把他們的子女帶到集中營。
他說到:「有些家長很仰賴(look to)這個集中營,將之視作改正子女的最後手段(last resort),尤其是他們的獨生子女(the only child)。他們希望集中營能給他們子女機會戒除線上遊戲的癮頭(break their addiction to . . .),回到學校後可以展現更好的課業能力。」
The military-style camps are situated throughout China, and are designed to force the country’s youth away from obsessive Internet surfing and video gaming. Typically, kids can spend three to four months at a camp receiving treatment.
Filmmakers Shlam and Hilla Medalia were granted access to the Daxing Boot Camp in Beijing, the first Internet addiction camp, which opened in 2005.
“Most of the kids were forced to come there, they didn’t know where they were going,” said Hilla Medalia, co-director of Web Junkie. “Some of them were drugged, one of our kids thought he was going skiing and found himself behind bars at the center.”
Once there, the patients are required to participate in rigorous exercises, medication and therapy. Sometimes patients are also placed in isolation for as long as 10 days. The living conditions are Spartan, according to Medalia.
Hilla Medalia是紀錄片「網路癮君子(Web Junkie,暫譯)」的共同導演,她說,「絕大多數都是被強迫來的,他們不知道會來這裡。有些是被下藥帶來的,有一個本以為是要去滑雪,但後來卻發現被關在中心的柵欄後(behind bars)。(編按:behind bars一般是指「坐牢」,bars是印象中牢籠的鐵柱;依照新聞描述,進集中營的遭遇如同坐牢監禁般」。)
病人到了集中營就必須加入嚴厲的(rigorous)體能操練,開始吃藥與治療。病人有時甚至會被獨自隔離(in isolation)達十天之久。依照Hilla Medalia的說法,這裡的生活條件是斯巴達式的(Spartan)。
“There are no showers, and they wake up very early in the morning, it’s like a boot camp in many ways and they’re doing military training,” she said. “In the winter it’s extremely cold in Beijing, and in the summer it’s extremely hot.”
But Medalia said camp officials believe the harsh conditions provide a discipline that the patients need. The center encourages parents to stay at the camps, and families often participate in consultations with authorities there. The Daxing treatment center claimed 70 percent success in helping patients overcome Internet addiction. It has since closed, but relocated to another facility not connected to the military.
But some of the disciplinary measures at the camps have become overly harsh, and deaths have been reported. According to a 2012 Xinhua story, “instructors who resort to violence while treating addicts at Internet addiction rehabilitation centers will be disqualified from continuing their job.”
That same report said that in 2010 two camp instructors beat a 15-year-old to death. The two received “up to” 10 years in prison, according to the report.
紀錄片導演說,集中營的人員認為艱苦的生活條件能提供病所需的生活紀律(discipline)。中心也鼓勵家長一起待在營內,有些家庭也常參與和中心人員的諮詢(consultation)。大興的醫療中心宣稱,其病人克服網路上癮的成功率達70%,但業已關閉,轉往另一個和軍方沒有關聯的場所。
營中有些管教手段(disciplinary measure)過於嚴苛,曾傳出死亡事件。根據2012年的新華網報導,「在網路成癮康復中心(rehabilitation center) 對病人使用暴力的指導員將失去繼續在此工作的資格 (be disqualified from . . .)」。(編按:rehabilitation center泛指重大傷病的康復、復健中心,而美國影劇新聞中常見某些藝人出入rehab的新聞,那通常是指戒毒或戒酒中心。)
同一份報導也指出,2010年有兩位營區指導員將十五歲的學員毆打致死 (beat . . .to death),而根據報導說法,這兩名指導員將有多至(“up to”) 十年的刑期。
And the deaths continue.
In June, a 19-year-old girl died after being repeatedly dropped on the ground by instructors at a camp in Henan province. Another girl apparently died after being forced to do extreme exercises on a cold floor for two hours.
The true test of the camps’ success comes when the participants leave the camps and return to their homes or schools where the Internet is always waiting.
“Once they return to society, they’re not supposed to then play games, but they still have to use the Internet,” said Harwit, noting that much academic research is now done online. “How do you say this part of the Internet is good, but this part you should avoid?”
參與者離開營地,回到家庭與返校後將處在總是有網路使用的環境中,這才是對集中營是否成功真正的考驗(true test)。
夏威夷大學教授Harwit說,「青少年重返社會(return to society)後雖然不被許可再玩網路遊戲,但他們還是得使用網路。」他指出,因為現在很多課業上的資料收集都在網路上進行,「要判斷哪些網路使用是好的,而哪些是必須避免的,將會很困難。」
China is not the only country grappling with Internet addiction.
The New York Times reported that “up to 30 percent of South Koreans under 18, or about 2.4 million people, are at risk of Internet addiction.” South Korea also has opened well over 100 rehabilitation centers for those suffering from addiction.
Vocabulary
heroin (n) 海洛因(毒品)XXX有一個混淆字要注意:heroine跟heroin發音一樣,但字尾多了一”e”,意思是「女傑」,或電影與小說裡的「女主角」
affliction (n) 苦惱,折磨 xxxxxxxxxx spawn (v) 大量產生、衍生
documentary (n) 紀錄片xxxxxxxxxxxdon (v) 穿戴
resort to (v phr) 求助於,訴諸於XXXXX這個片語的”to”為介係詞,後須接名詞,動詞則變成動名詞,如新聞中用法
look to (v phr) 依賴,依靠XXXXX*xxxx這個片語的”to”為介係詞,後接名詞
behind bars (phr) 坐監服刑 xxxxxxxxrigorous (a) 嚴厲的,嚴格的
discipline (n) 紀律,戒律;形容詞為disciplinary
grapple with (v phr) 處理(難解的問題),與…搏鬥
Check your vocabulary!
Fill in the blanks with a word or phrase from the list above. Make necessary changes. After you finish, select the text below to reveal the hidden answers.
1. She's regularly looked to for advice.
2. I don't have enough self-discipline to save money.
3. New technology has spawned new business opportunities.
4. Pains in the head were among the many afflictions she suffered.
5. Officials fear that extremists may resort to violence.
6. Her killer was finally put behind bars.
Source:http://www.voanews.com/content/electronic-heroin-spawns-chinese-internet-addiction-camps/2427495.html
編譯:簡嘉呈
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