Addicted to cellphones, South Korean teens enter government-run detox centers

(by Sophie Jeong, CNN) – It was 4 a.m. when 16-year-old Yoo Chae-rin realized she had been on her phone for 13 hours. In less than three hours, she had to be up for school.

The South Korean high school student knew she had a problem, so she enrolled in a government-run camp for teenagers who can’t put their phones down.

“Even when I knew in my head I should stop using my smartphone, I just kept going,” Yoo said. “I couldn’t stop, so I’d be on it until dawn.”

South Korea has one of the highest ownership of smartphones in the world. More than 98% of South Korean teens used one in 2018, according to government figures — and many are showing signs of addiction.

Last year, around 30% of South Korean children aged 10 to 19 were classed as “overdependent” on their phones, according to the Ministry of Science and Information and Communications Technology (MSIT). That means they experienced “serious consequences” due to their smartphone use, including a decline in self-control.

It’s those children — like Yoo — who qualify for a place on government-run camps to treat internet addiction. The program started in 2007 and expanded in 2015 to include smartphones.

This year, South Korea’s Ministry of Gender Equality and Family held 16 camps across the country for about 400 middle and high school students. For some parents, it was a last resort.

“I think they send kids here because of their desperate desire to get an expert’s help,” said Yoo Soon-duk, Director of Gyeonggi-do Youth Counseling & Welfare Center, which runs a camp for teens in the northern Gyeonggi province.

Yoo had been an average student in middle school, but by high school she had sunk to the bottom of the class. She would stay up late, scrolling through her Facebook feed, playing with South Korean camera app Snow and talking with friends on instant messaging service KakaoTalk.

“I felt like my sense of reality was fading,” said Yoo. “Even when I had a fun and productive day (with my friends), it felt like a dream.”

Her father, Yoo Jae-ho, became increasingly worried about her. “There wasn’t much conversation among the family,” he said. “If I talked to her about her phone, there would be an argument.”

He set a time limit of two hours a day for smartphone use, but his daughter still found ways to get around it.

It was Yoo Chae-rin’s idea to join the camp in July. At the gate, she handed in her phone for the first time in years and started a 12-day detox.

South Korean internet addiction camps are free, aside for a 100,000 won ($84) fee for food. Boys and girls are sent to separate camps, and each caters for around 25 students.

At camp, the teenagers are encouraged to participate in scavenger hunts, arts and crafts activities, and sports events. They also have to attend compulsory one-on-one, group and family counseling sessions to discuss their phone usage. Then, for 30 minutes before sleep, the campers meditate.

Many of the camps are held in youth training centers, away from the city, in green, leafy settings to help the young addicts switch off. Yoo’s camp was held in the city of Cheonan at the National Youth Center of Korea, which has an indoor swimming pool and sports ground.

Camp director Yoo Soon-duk said for the first few days the teenagers have an “agonized look” on their faces. “From the third day, you can see how they change,” she said. “They (start to) enjoy hanging out with friends.”

…While this camp is for teenagers, there are separate camps for elementary students, and the National Center for Youth Internet Addiction Treatment offers programs during the semester.

South Korea is not the only country where teenagers are hooked on phones — worries are growing about excessive smartphone use worldwide.

In 2015, 16% of 15-year-olds in OECD countries spent more than six hours online each day outside school hours, according to a report published in 2017. On weekends, the figure rose to 26%.  …..

CNN’s Lee Ji-su, Park Ji-min, Kim Na-yeong and Shin Jae-eun contributed reporting.

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