Considering the plethora of facilities that have opened just in the past few years to deal solely with individuals that have become undoubtedly addicted to video games, the internet and all things Hello Kitty (we jest, we jest), we're not surprised one iota to hear that uncontrollably texting / e-mailing could soon become "classified as an official brain illness." According to a writeup in the latest American Journal of Psychiatry, internet addiction is a common ailment "that should be added to psychiatry's official guidebook of mental disorders." More specifically, Dr. Jerald Block, a psychiatrist at the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, even goes so far as to argue that said phenomenon (neglecting basic drives to spend more time online) be "included in the [next edition of] Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, psychiatry's official dictionary of mental illnesses." Until then, we wish you the best of luck convincing that creature living in your basement with a dedicated T1 line that he / she isn't alright.

[Via textually]

We apologize in advance if any of what follows hits a little too close to home, but unless you're camped out in South Korea, you don't have to worry about being ripped from your computer and sent to the Jump Up Internet Rescue School. Much like the facility seen earlier this year in China, this compound attempts to rehabilitate citizens from their dependence on the intarweb by forcing coaxing them into less digital activities such as pottery and drumming (Rock Band, anyone?). South Korea, which boasts "nearly universal" internet access, offers up the camp free of charge to those admitted, and currently, around four to five habitual net users are applying for every one available spot. While there, campers engage in social activities and participate in group functions like horseback riding and wall climbing, but it remains to be seen if graduates of the program can really resist the temptation of relapsing once they return home.

[Via NewsFactor / Yahoo]