A new disease, “Internet Syndrome”, is beginning to appear in China. Doctors say more and more psychological conditions, that have Internet related causes, are being diagnosed. It appears that this is restricted mostly to teenagers and that addicts are suffering symptoms like delirium, paranoia and psychosis. Often the affected person has been spending over 6 hours a day on the Internet. A Doctor Yu Haiting, the vice president of the No. 8 People’s Hospital in Zhengzhou, told the Xinhauanet news agency that he sees over two cases a week: “He cites the case of a 19-year old who, after surfing the next for five to six hours everyday for five years who had come to believe that “invisible pairs of eyes in cyber-space were peeping at him and examining him all the time”. Yu explains that sufferers are typically having difficulties with social interaction in the real world, and turn to the Net to avoid conflict with friends and family. “To start with, they turn to the virtual world for comfort and gradually become more reluctant to face life,” he said. Dr. Yu advises that teenagers restrict time online to no more than 3 hours per day and that parents spend time talking with their children to encourage them to engage with the real world.” Quote courtesy of the Register. China has been seen to aproach the Internet with caution and recently passed legislation to prevent people under 18 from using cyber cafes. It is speculated that the publication of these “Internet Syndrome” cases may be an attempt to persuade the Chinese population not to use the Internet.