Engraved wound

Almost half a year later, when Mo‘s parents brought him back home, he was more interested than ever in cyber games.

Mo An now goes to school, but anything that reminds him of the hospital is traumatic – for example, even iron gates can terrify him.

And the result is his insomnia is even more severe now, and when he wakes up at night, he wants to kill his parents.

"Why did they send me to that madhouse?" he asks.

Mo stays away from his parents and has made a hole in his room wall to observe them. He only leaves his room to have a meal after they leave the dining room.

In despair, his parents traveled to Wuhan, capital city of Hubei Province, to seek the assistance of Tao Hongkai, a sociologist and educationalist who specializes in cyber addicted children.

After hearing Mo's story, Tao reacted with anger, "Teenagers like Mo haven't done anything wrong, and no one is entitled to curb their personal freedom. They will lose their sense of security if they live in fear for several months. Such an experience will lead to severe mental anguish or may cause them to seek revenge on their parents or society."

He also said that in 2004, there were only a few psychiatric hospitals for internet addition treatment in China, but in 2007 there were already more than 300, and now there are over 1700.

Tao said that in such cases of internet addiction parents should try to gain more understanding about their child's development, try to communicate with them and become closer.

"Maybe it's a slower method, but it is the only one that works." Tao added.