Thursday, August 09, 2007
China's Internet spreads a complex web
By Indrajit Basu, Asia Times
Aug 9, 2007
KOLKATA - The rooms in China are like cells with metal bars for doors and windows, and are hardly open to visitors. Those living in them are mostly teenagers who live under military-like discipline. But these inmates are neither mental patients nor prisoners; almost all have landed there on their own or have been sent by their parents.
They are there for one reason: treatment for Internet addiction. The clinics they are in are called Internet Addiction Treatment Centers; there are currently eight such clinics.
As China's economic growth rumbles ahead, using the Internet to live, work, talk and even play in extremes, these clinics are just one example of the power the Internet has started wielding on China and the profound change that it is bringing into its society.
"The Internet is a revolution in China," said Guo Liang, deputy director of the Center for Social Development at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). "There is no doubt that it is changing the ways of business, life and communication in China. And this is happening despite the fact China embraced the Internet much later than most developed countries."
Ever since the commercialization of the Internet in China in 1995, the country has been one of the most aggressive adopters of this medium. For instance, by June 1998 - about 30 months after the Internet made its debut in China - the country had notched up 1.1 million Internet users. That doubled in the next six months and continued to double every six months from then until 2000, when the number touched about 17 million users.
According to a recently published survey by the China Internet Network Information Center, the total number of Internet users currently stands at more than 137 million, representing annual growth of 23%, a rate at which say experts China is poised to overtake the United States (currently largest at 153 million users) in the next two years.
There's little doubt that the Internet is transforming China for the better, but there's no denying either that it has also been a bane in many aspects.
"I think that the biggest benefit of the Internet is that it has given the Chinese the freedom to express themselves," said Guo. "While there's a lot of talk of the repression of the Internet in China, the fact is that the Internet has given the Chinese the power to change the course of their lives."
Guo added that a large section of the Chinese population actually depend on the Internet, chat rooms, bulletin board systems (BBS) and weblogs to obtain information because the news media are controlled by the government.
"Most Internet users spend all of their leisure time going online eager to acquire knowledge about the outside world that their parents never knew. While many depend on the Internet for minor decisions such as which is the new color to go for when buying a new car, others, such as farmers near Shanghai, use the medium to decide whether to sell their harvest within the country or export it to get the best price."
According to this year's Statistical Survey Report on Internet Development in China, as many as 85% of people seeking information use the Internet, while just 15% and 18% use the state-controlled publications and broadcasting services respectively.
"The Internet also means business," said Kou Xiaowei, deputy director of the Audiovisual and Internet Publication Department of the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP). Although China's dependence on the Internet for trade and commerce is still comparatively low compared with other developed economies, even that is slated to change.
"Thanks to the characteristics of the Internet and Chinese people's insatiable urge to consume," said Kou, "China's Internet economy is slated to grow faster and could even be bigger than many Western countries [eventually]."
The Statistical Survey Report says that last year, Chinese Internet users spent a monthly average of US$22 online, including the costs of Internet access, online shopping and games, compared with about $20 in 2005. The online consumer market expanded by 47% over the previous year, said the report.
However, even as millions of words have been written the world over on the Chinese government's control over the Internet, experts there believe that this aspect does not affect its people all that much. "The [Chinese government] control over the Internet is misunderstood by the world," said Gao Jie, an analyst with CCID Consulting, a Chinese consulting firm.
"Although the Chinese media system is in the process of marketization, some Western scholars and researchers still turn a blind eye to these characteristics and functional changes of the media. Their researches on China's news media were still based on the prejudiced idea that the Chinese press was a mouthpiece of the central government and an ideological apparatus of the state."
Let me entertain you
But behind the rosy side of the scorching growth of the Internet in China, there are also some problem areas. "The problem is that lately much of the Internet boom in China has been driven by the need to have virtual fun," said Guo Liang.
"Although the positive influence of the Internet is undeniable, the fact is most young people in China [where 70% of the Internet users are under 30] are using the Internet just for entertainment; for them the Internet is only for playing online games, downloading video and music, and even for dwelling in imaginary worlds."
Indeed, it is estimated that the Chinese spent a mind-boggling 2 billion hours surfing the 'Net last year, and even if that's making the cash registers of Chinese (Tencent, Sina) as well as global (Google, Yahoo, etc) Internet companies ring, "all that is also doing some harm to the society", said Guo.
The Internet Addiction Clinics are good examples of the new malaise called "Web addiction" that is sweeping China, but that's not the only serious downside of the Internet in that country. In a recent study by Sophos, which claims to be the world leader in information-technology security and control, China has been identified as one of the top contributors (just after the United States, which features as No 1) to cyber-crimes.
"China has a massive population and rapidly expanding Internet connectivity," said Paul Ducklin, head of technology, Asia-Pacific, for Sophos. "It's not surprising that China is No 2 in the list of countries hosting Web malware."
Small wonder, then, that President Hu Jintao thinks there's need to "purify the Internet environment", and is mulling a further dose regulations and other measures. "The rapid development of the Internet in China has played an important role in spreading information, knowledge, and government's policies," Hu said in a recent address to government officials.
"Whether we can cope with the Internet is a matter that affects the development of socialist culture, the security of information, and the stability of the state. We should spread more information that is in good taste, and promote online products that can represent the grand Chinese culture."
Indrajit Basu is a Kolkata-based journalist.
(Copyright 2007 Asia Times Online Ltd. All rights reserved) ¶ 11:03 AM
Aug 9, 2007
KOLKATA - The rooms in China are like cells with metal bars for doors and windows, and are hardly open to visitors. Those living in them are mostly teenagers who live under military-like discipline. But these inmates are neither mental patients nor prisoners; almost all have landed there on their own or have been sent by their parents.
They are there for one reason: treatment for Internet addiction. The clinics they are in are called Internet Addiction Treatment Centers; there are currently eight such clinics.
As China's economic growth rumbles ahead, using the Internet to live, work, talk and even play in extremes, these clinics are just one example of the power the Internet has started wielding on China and the profound change that it is bringing into its society.
"The Internet is a revolution in China," said Guo Liang, deputy director of the Center for Social Development at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). "There is no doubt that it is changing the ways of business, life and communication in China. And this is happening despite the fact China embraced the Internet much later than most developed countries."
Ever since the commercialization of the Internet in China in 1995, the country has been one of the most aggressive adopters of this medium. For instance, by June 1998 - about 30 months after the Internet made its debut in China - the country had notched up 1.1 million Internet users. That doubled in the next six months and continued to double every six months from then until 2000, when the number touched about 17 million users.
According to a recently published survey by the China Internet Network Information Center, the total number of Internet users currently stands at more than 137 million, representing annual growth of 23%, a rate at which say experts China is poised to overtake the United States (currently largest at 153 million users) in the next two years.
There's little doubt that the Internet is transforming China for the better, but there's no denying either that it has also been a bane in many aspects.
"I think that the biggest benefit of the Internet is that it has given the Chinese the freedom to express themselves," said Guo. "While there's a lot of talk of the repression of the Internet in China, the fact is that the Internet has given the Chinese the power to change the course of their lives."
Guo added that a large section of the Chinese population actually depend on the Internet, chat rooms, bulletin board systems (BBS) and weblogs to obtain information because the news media are controlled by the government.
"Most Internet users spend all of their leisure time going online eager to acquire knowledge about the outside world that their parents never knew. While many depend on the Internet for minor decisions such as which is the new color to go for when buying a new car, others, such as farmers near Shanghai, use the medium to decide whether to sell their harvest within the country or export it to get the best price."
According to this year's Statistical Survey Report on Internet Development in China, as many as 85% of people seeking information use the Internet, while just 15% and 18% use the state-controlled publications and broadcasting services respectively.
"The Internet also means business," said Kou Xiaowei, deputy director of the Audiovisual and Internet Publication Department of the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP). Although China's dependence on the Internet for trade and commerce is still comparatively low compared with other developed economies, even that is slated to change.
"Thanks to the characteristics of the Internet and Chinese people's insatiable urge to consume," said Kou, "China's Internet economy is slated to grow faster and could even be bigger than many Western countries [eventually]."
The Statistical Survey Report says that last year, Chinese Internet users spent a monthly average of US$22 online, including the costs of Internet access, online shopping and games, compared with about $20 in 2005. The online consumer market expanded by 47% over the previous year, said the report.
However, even as millions of words have been written the world over on the Chinese government's control over the Internet, experts there believe that this aspect does not affect its people all that much. "The [Chinese government] control over the Internet is misunderstood by the world," said Gao Jie, an analyst with CCID Consulting, a Chinese consulting firm.
"Although the Chinese media system is in the process of marketization, some Western scholars and researchers still turn a blind eye to these characteristics and functional changes of the media. Their researches on China's news media were still based on the prejudiced idea that the Chinese press was a mouthpiece of the central government and an ideological apparatus of the state."
Let me entertain you
But behind the rosy side of the scorching growth of the Internet in China, there are also some problem areas. "The problem is that lately much of the Internet boom in China has been driven by the need to have virtual fun," said Guo Liang.
"Although the positive influence of the Internet is undeniable, the fact is most young people in China [where 70% of the Internet users are under 30] are using the Internet just for entertainment; for them the Internet is only for playing online games, downloading video and music, and even for dwelling in imaginary worlds."
Indeed, it is estimated that the Chinese spent a mind-boggling 2 billion hours surfing the 'Net last year, and even if that's making the cash registers of Chinese (Tencent, Sina) as well as global (Google, Yahoo, etc) Internet companies ring, "all that is also doing some harm to the society", said Guo.
The Internet Addiction Clinics are good examples of the new malaise called "Web addiction" that is sweeping China, but that's not the only serious downside of the Internet in that country. In a recent study by Sophos, which claims to be the world leader in information-technology security and control, China has been identified as one of the top contributors (just after the United States, which features as No 1) to cyber-crimes.
"China has a massive population and rapidly expanding Internet connectivity," said Paul Ducklin, head of technology, Asia-Pacific, for Sophos. "It's not surprising that China is No 2 in the list of countries hosting Web malware."
Small wonder, then, that President Hu Jintao thinks there's need to "purify the Internet environment", and is mulling a further dose regulations and other measures. "The rapid development of the Internet in China has played an important role in spreading information, knowledge, and government's policies," Hu said in a recent address to government officials.
"Whether we can cope with the Internet is a matter that affects the development of socialist culture, the security of information, and the stability of the state. We should spread more information that is in good taste, and promote online products that can represent the grand Chinese culture."
Indrajit Basu is a Kolkata-based journalist.
(Copyright 2007 Asia Times Online Ltd. All rights reserved) ¶ 11:03 AM
