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First American Internet Addiction Treatment Center
An anonymous reader writes "Taking their lead from China, two Americans have opened the first US-based Internet Addiction treatment center in Fall City, Wash. — ironically close to Redmond (Microsoft's hometown). The center, called reStart: Internet Addiction Recovery Program, is a 45-day treatment center where, for a steep set of fees, people can be cured of their addiction to the Web. After paying the $200 application fee, addicts are charged $14,500 for the 45 days, an additional $800 for a screening, and more for extra services, like kayaking ($1,575)."
Shouldn't they have called it reboot? Just sayin'...
Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.
No wonder they cure Internet addiction, after paying 15 grand, you couldn't even afford dial up.
who prays for Satan? Who in 18 centuries has had the humanity to pray for the 1 sinner that needed it most? ~Mark Twain
Does the center have free wifi?
I wonder if the beatings are free, or if you pay extra for that?
it very well sounds like the goal here isn't so much to actually "treat" people so much as to make large sums of money by catering to those of us who have access to lots of cash.
Sigs are too short to say anything truly profound so read the above post instead.
People will now have to pay monthly fee for not being connected to the Internet as well?
Ezekiel 23:20
Can I sign up online?
when do we start flocking en masse to these "Treatment Centers" ??
I must give a nod to this highly creative solution to net addiction: charge the victim so much money they can afford neither a computer nor a net connection! The elegance of the solution is awe-inspiring.
Proud member of the Weirdo-American community.
So, do they have a website? Myspace page? Twitter page? Facebook page? Youtube channel?
Two friends -- Cosette Rae, a clinical social worker, and author Hilarie Cash
Now, these people could be people devastated by personal loss due to too much World of Warcraft by a loved one... or they could be two people who are fearmongerers desperately trying to leech cash out of rich Microsoft yuppie parents who can't figure out how to pull the plug on their kid's computerboxstation360.
All I'm saying is the article doesn't mention anything about them, and given the lack of PhD or even MD behind the names... I'll say nothing to see here, move along.
I'm surprised it's not just a room full of prostitutes and an all you can eat plan for a week.
You: I can't stop spending money on Amazon and Ebay!
Them: Don't worry! We're here to help! Where's that checkbook?
So basically you're paying $15,000 for summer camp? I mean, there wouldn't be much that they do there that would help any more than just spending a month and a half outdoors with a large group of people away from computers. You're simply showing the people that there's more to do out there while helping them build real world social skills by keeping them in a group. The $15,000 is way excessive, and if you've got that kind of money lying around I can't imagine your internet addiction being that much of a problem.
"and more for extra services, like kayaking ($1,575)."
Is that virtual kayaking on an Xbox 360?
MS was and is far from the lead on the internet thing.
Wouldn't it be ironically close to Al Gore's place of birth or something similar?
Do they have one of something like this for television?
Dammit, they'll use tasers here, not like China where they get sticks..
No Taco! It's Not TUESday, it's THURSday! How about filet-o-fish Thursday?
First I feel sorry for the parents who can't get their kids to get off the Internet and go outside.
Next, I have to say, these greedy bastards did it again. Another way to make money. Another way to get money out of those rich folks who can afford it.
Parents - put some time into your children, talk to them, get them into a traditional summer camp - that won't cost you a quarter of your child's college savings. Spend some more time with your children, invest time and emotions into them instead of wasting your dough.
Life is about being a Phoenix!
It's odd how they've conveniently changed the meaning of "addiction". The definition used to be that for something to be addictive, it had to have physical withdrawal symptoms, like alcohol, caffiene, niccotine, heroin, etc. What used to be separately termed "habituation" is now termed "addiction".
However, as I learned when quitting cigarettes, the habituation can be as bad as the addiction. Two years after I stopped, and didn't even WANT a cigarette, I still slapped the shirt pocket that used to hold the cigarettes when I left work. Do anything for thirty years and you'll miss it, even if "it" is being hit on the head with a stick.
Free Martian Whores!
They should force them to play mind-bendingly awful games, a few days of "Sunday Funday" ought to set them straight. That or the popular "beat you to death" therapy I've heard so much about.
crazy dynamite monkey
I have never once come across "internet addiction" I know it simply does not exist. NOW LEAVE ME ALONE! STOP STANDING BEHIND ME...GOD!
it's called my back yard. The director? My wife. Both are very effective.
Just open up a bugzilla ticket.
"There's a sucker born every minute."
Sorry, but anyone who pays over $15k to "cure" themselves of addiction to the internet is an idiot. I can cure it for you faster, easier, and cheaper - in fact, you'll MAKE money.
Cancel.
Your.
Internet.
There. I saved you over $15k.
Sorry for the lack of sympathy but there are people out there with real addictions who need help. "Internet addiction" is a complete joke.
And, for anyone who is about to point out people who have an obsessive need to be online, don't confuse OCD behaviour with addiction. The two are different. One may lead to the other but they are not the same. People aren't addicted to the internet. Sorry.
Ironic would be if Microsoft employees were less likely to be addicted to the internet than others. Come to think of it, maybe after the frustration of having to surf the web with IE all day, their addiction cures itself. In that case, it would be ironic to build a center next door.
right after BlizzCon.
How much does a fatal beating go for? Are the prices competitive, or should I import one from china?
After reading the previous statement, most Slashdotters just uttered a "heh" in cynical agreement. Pornographic images and video have the largest percentage (although it may not necessarily exceed 50%) of Internet bandwidth.
The interesting question to ask is whether the Internet-addiction clinic charges more than a sex-addiction clinic. The addict should attend the clinic that costs less -- assuming that the addict even acknowledges a problem.
Note that the American clinic is addressing an issue differing from that addressed by the Chinese clinic. The Chinese clinic is addressing a non-sex issue since, in theory, pornography is not allowed on the Chinese Internet.
testing 1 2 3
Obligatory xkcd
"I bless every day that I continue to live, for every day is pure profit."
I'm only going if it has free Wifi in the rooms.
From the article:
>Certainly the wrong way to help is to tell someone with a problem to do the 2-Step Program:
>
>Step 1. Turn the computer off and go outside.
>
>Step 2. Repeat Step 1.
If you are already on the outside and the computer is off, how do you repeat step 1 ? This is certainly wrong, but for what reason?
The australian car rental people I met once were much better. I asked them for some hints about driving on the left side, they just said "do that and stay there". It worked.
Je me souviens.
I heard it was.... Dial Up....
just by not paying my Verizon bill.
Sent from the iPad I found in your car.
... 'shakawhenthewallsfell' ?
Despite that this is a reference to one of the greatest Next Generation episodes ever, I'm not sure I see the connection.
One time, at Internet Addiction Camp.....
Strange, I got a 404
Just need a remote controlled boxing glove (ala jackass 2) or a modified shock collar. When someone goes somewhere they don't need to go, they either get hit or shocked. problem solved. Set up a website, charge other people a fee to "press the button" and you've just covered your costs with little to no personnel and it'll run itself, so you can do a good service AND still play WoW. (or my soon to be downfall, quakelive.). anyone who does this company, I want 1% of profits so I can retire.
If RSS Feeds are like coke, then I've gone through an 8-ball already.
http://www.allometry.com
Why don't we send people who talk on the phone all day to telephone addiction treatment centers?
Oh, right, that would be stupid.
..but are the mortal beatings free?
There is an app called "Disconnect with Andrew Johnson" on the iPhone app store. You can use technology to beat your addiction. http://bit.ly/DisCon
Sure, this crowd is going to push back a lot. And it's prime material for jokes. But, in short, a lot of web addicts have underlying problems of which excessive use of the internet is really a symptom. People get legitimately addicted to all kinds of things, and the internet happens to be a completely ubiquitous, invasive entity... so I'll be curious to see if this group is capable of weeding through this primary symptom with an eye towards lower-level issues.
At the most extreme end of the spectrum -- and sometimes that's all an addiction is, normal behavior taking to an extreme -- they'll have to deal with people who might use the internet to escape all human interaction, who always use pornography in lieu of meaningful relationships, who have trouble separating fantasy violence from real life situations in which violence has consequences, who have general-category neurological issues like autism, aspergers syndrome, etc.
On one hand, in light of this, a kayak trip is a joke. On the other hand, sometimes these things are all it take to get people thinking about bigger issues, especially if they can be directed to long-term, more appropriately fine-tuned help.
...to be beaten to death?
"Capital punishment makes the state into a murderer. Imprisonment makes the state into a gay dungeon-master"
....do I at least get wifi in my room?
I judt got a nre Kinesis keybiartf so please excusr ant egregiou typos.
But how does the cost compare?
If you have that kind of money to waste on this 'addiction' cure wouldn't it be cheaper to just hire a therapist? I just can't see how somebody would pay that much to cure what so many generations survived without? We'll say it's a teenager forced by their parents to go here, it would still be cheaper to just take time off of work and supervise the kid for a long period of time. Maybe the parent will learn something in the process that probably got their kid 'addicted' in the first place.
Help I have an NES addiction!
No, no, no you insensitive clod ! I'm a recovering Internet addict. I don't click on "reply" anymore, and especially not "Reply All" ...
Guns don't kill people; Physics kills people! - John Lithgow as Dick Solomon on Third Rock From The Sun
Can I get a room with decent wireless?
Seriously, though: if you need 45 days to break your addiction to the web, for quite a bit lower sum you could just go get a tent and hang out in the Boundary Waters for 45 days.
I *guarantee* that you would come back and while you might enjoy reconnecting to the web again, none of the virtual world would seem nearly as important as before you left.
-Styopa
I wonder what kind of Internet connection they have there?
Its interesting that if you visit the companies website they list their social networking connections.... Think about that. If they are going to cure you of your internet addiction - do they really want people following them on facebook, twitter or their blog?
I saw this story on another site yesterday, and when I told my wife about it she laughed and asked if there were any book addiction centers. As soon as she mentioned this I realized that I ALWAYS need a book in my possession at all times. I need to read before I can go to sleep, or else I will lie awake for hours. Sometimes, if I have a good book, I will stay up late to read it, and then be tired the next day. I actively avoid using speed reading techniques, as this would increase my expenditures on books, which are already high enough.
I now believe that the only reason that their aren't book addiction centers is that reading never became popular enough with dumb people for them to blame books for their troubles.
ad . dic . tion, n.: The state or practice of engaging in an activity that does not earn money for one's boss. See antonymns at "well-adjusted" and "slave."
Spend roughly $17,000 on a retarded camp for morons. "No FUCKING Thank You"
I would rather take that entire sum go to Vegas and have some real fun and blog and tweet about it the whole 45 days
Let's hope it's also the last.
In Soviet China internet addiction beats YOU!
Why actually go outside and get wet and risk drowning when I can use Google Maps to take a virtual tour of the river from the comfort of my own home! I can even read reviews from actual kayakers on that river and decide for myself if I liked the experience or not.
What I want to know is, if this facility is successful, how will /. survive?
A substantial minority of thing A is actually thing B. From a logical standpoint, there exists an A that is also a B.
Therefore, all addictions to A are addictions to B. Put another way, if someone is addicted to A, then they are addicted to B.
Spot the fallacy, kids!
Irony...or am I the only one who finds it ironic that an internet addiction centre has a web site?
The steps to cure yourself of any Internet addiction:
1. Send me all the money in your bank accounts
2. Send me a monthly check for all the money you make to pay for your continued cure...
3. Thank me endlessly for curing you.
You will never have your own internet access again, AND I've cured you of that pesky having a home/apartment thing as well!
For a limited time, that extra service is free!
Anything can be done in excess, or can be neglected. Either to the point where we become dependent on the activity, or afraid of a situation, is bad because we change our lives to fit that to the detriment of our regular lives, had it not been affected by the activity. Therefore the activity controls us, and not the other way around. This can be done with anything, not just the internet, drugs, food, TV, and collecting garbage apparently. People who let it get to a certain point are too messed up emotionally to think rationally about it. They have become habituated and dependent on it. These people need help, no matter what the activity. It's unfortunate that it's so expensive and so specialized, hopefully eventually we will move on.
Twinstiq, game news
Addiction and adaptation are two concepts that play well off one another. Addiction has been likened to being in a dissociative state wherein, the addict confuses the gas pedal with the break. Adaptation is generally an characteristic that aides in survival and reproduction. Mammals, such as ourselves, developed hearing ranges and vocalizations that were keen adaptations. Overall, animals seem to develop communication adaptations specific to their kind, and such adaptations appear to have paid off. Social communication, speech and, most recently, writing are the hallmarks of our species. Along with bipedal locomotion they pretty much define us. The Internet is (was) a highly sophisticated communication channel, an extension of the core characteristics that allow us to dominate the planet. Practised, frequent, even habitual use of the Internet is characteristic of a progressive, well adapted person. The degradation of other, more antiquated communications skills, isn't a big issue as those skills are nearly universally reinforced and at hand should they again become the dominant, more sophisticated mode of communication. People "addicted" to the Internet are maladapted, but not in the way they think they are.
ideopath @ play
You can pay $14,500 for treatment, or pay for 24 years of internet access.
A work that expires before its copyright never enters the public domain and thus enjoys eternal copyright protection.
You mean to tell me I can seriously charge people $15K just to show them how to get a life?
I am building an Internet Addict detention center in my basement as we speak! I'll let them out for play time twice a day and occasional feedings, as long as they mow the lawn and clean the kitchen. Plus the extra money should help me get a DS3 dropped in so I can surf 24x7 in style.
That is not ironic.
Go green: turn off your refrigerator.
I'm not addicted. I just find everything else in life less entertaining.
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Taking their lead from China, two Americans have opened the first US-based Internet Addiction treatment center in Fall City, Wash.
I wonder how much they charge for a beating that results in death? ;P
We might have some catch-up to do, as it seems china includes that service in their base fee
Suckers. They should have used Drupal! Drupal rocks! Totally!
I spend a LOT of time with Drupal. I love it! Ummm. Uh oh.
But Joomla? Good grief. Why should I trust this internet health center again?
Oh, really? Well, maybe it's the first one with its own social network. Hmmm, I wonder where I can find an AA group with their own bar?
"If your parents never had children, chances are you wonât either." -Dick Cavett
Porno just teaches one repetive maneuver that doesn't scale into weapons well, unless it's a small stabbing action with a knife. WoW is giant chatroom where everyone gets together and willfully injures another single or group of people. Those 2nd-amendment kids out there all studied their rifle and handguns, were disciplined in the safe and effective usage, and acknowledge the 3 stages of boastfullness so that the would know the origin of violence and how to be peaceful and honoured societies as to not escalating most disputes to a dead end. As a result of WoW, people develop opinions, get dummer, and ackowledge a weapon as the only easy way to achieve Gain.
And here in the United States everyone blaims the gun, even Obama, even Democrats and Republicans. Blame shallow perceptions of social interaction. Don't blame the fart, don't blame the beans, blame the undiscplined man that dealt it.
Porno teaches a well-rounded man how to use his or her genetitals; for the shallow mind, those matters of perception are not in sight but the perception of an entertainable activity.
Having been there, Fall City probably needs an AA program more than it needs a internet addiction program
Please visit www.......
First they came for the pr0n junkies, and I didn't speak up, because I wasn't a pr0n junkie.
Then they came for the SecondLifers, and I didn't speak up, because I wasn't a SecondLifer.
Then they came for the WoW nerds, and I didn't speak up, because I was into EverQuest.
Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak up for me.
Yet which costs more?
I'll open a kayaking addiction center nearby.
See here. I wonder if these clowns know that. I'd hate to see these profiteering zealots run afoul of the law.ï
You can get Scientology for cheaper. At least the first couple sessions.
...do they have online classes?
I'm seeing a lot of ignorant posts in this thread about the cost and 'easier' solutions.
First off, the standard 28 days for a drug addiction costs much more than $15,000.
Secondly, I saw a post saying "Cancel. Your. Internet. Service." Would you tell a drug addict to just stop buying drugs?
Maybe being addicted to the internet is not a true addiction. But short of LOLDONTGOONTHEWEB what else would you people suggest for someone with a problem?
at least I can ignore stupid crap without hurting peoples feelings like I would have to do if I were in a live setting with them.
Blah Blah Blah!
Oh sorry I wasn't listening to your wharrgarbl once you mentioned [insert random irrelevant event here].
Own my own house, hate cheetos, do not have a basement.
Feel free to ignore this. I know I would.
Top ten signs you may be addicted to the internet
I would certainly hope they have good WiFi
to the new here, what was trollish in this post?
Outdoors? Kinky!
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
I have. I'm addicted. Do I want to be cured? Are you effing kidding?
I make my money that way. How many new trojans have I found aimlessly surfing up and down the 'net? How many "firsts" I got are due to this? How many contracts came out of them? Honestly, if you want to separate me and the net, my golden-egg-laying goose, make sure your nuts are kick-proof!
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
You'd like to think for $15k that they'll include WiFi during your stay...
Come over, I can charge you 1000$ per month, for room and board and give you a pool to swim in, and give you exercises to do, and I have no internet, so there would be no real temptation, in fact ANYONE GOING ON VACATION would not have any temptations either, and would be much cheaper then taking off a month, AND paying someone 15,000$!!!
Wait, so they pay to be on the Truman Show?
My first Journal Entry ever, in 8 years! http://slashdot.org/journal/365947/aphelion-scifi-fantasy-horror-poetry-webzine
They better provide FiOS!!
For $15000 I have a program that will cure your kid's internet addiction. I give your kid $200 in cash and they get sent to Libya or Chad for 45 days (accommodations and utilities paid for). Kid has to decide whether to spend the money on food or internet. Spends it all on food? Hey, he hasn't used internet for 45 days, he's cured. Spent most of it on finding and paying for internet? Then he's probably lost some weight from being malnourished, and the painfully slow dial up has at least hindered his online activity. Spent it all on internet and died of starvation? Chances are you never had any time to talk with him anyway since he's plugged in all day, and you've done the world a favor by preventing his uber-dorkness from remaining in the gene pool. Assuming he would have actually gotten a chance to procreate some time in his life.
Global warming and other natural disasters are a direct effect of the shrinking number of pirates - Gospel of the FSM
Well I don't think "investing" in 15,000 bucks would stop my Internet "habit". Sure I can quit any time I want to but WHY??? Is normal life "happier" then virtual life? Is being online helping or hurting? Why shun yourself from MILLIONS of people/news/info/websites/porn/games/people to talk /w?
I'd be like paying to be celebate! (no sex like nuns!)
Ya, I really like sex so I decided to give it up!
Can I also take a rod from the filthy power plants to keep around? I heard they are warm. (fucking idiots).
C-O-U-N-T-E-R P-R-O-D-U-C-T-I-V-E! =P