Up until recently, China used electric shock therapy to cure young people of Internet addiction. That is until the Health Ministry ordered a hospital to stop because there’s no scientific evidence it worked.

The treatment was used as part of a four-month program that has so far treated nearly 3,000 youths, the China Youth Daily newspaper reported.

In a statement posted on its site late Monday, the ministry said there is no domestic or international clinical evidence that electric shock therapy helps cure Internet addiction. Electric shock therapy is most often used to treat severe depression.

Internet addiction: Is it real?

A growing number of psychologists and therapists say Internet addiction is as real as compulsive gambling, drug abuse and binge eating.

In Boston, McLean Hospital, a psychiatric hospital affiliated with Harvard, opened a computer addiction clinic in 1996.

At the University of Maryland, Dr. Kandell, the assistant director of the counseling center, hung out a shingle for an Internet addiction support group after he watched a few net-obsessed students nearly flunk out.

Even the renowned American Psychological Association conference has featured a number of academic surveys about on-line addiction.

Although Internet addiction is not recognized as a formal mental health disorder, mental health professionals who have written about the subject note symptoms or behaviors that, when present in sufficient numbers, may indicate problematic use. These include:

• Losing track of time after making a connection.
• Going out less and less.
• Denying spending too much time on the internet.
• Checking on your mailbox too many times a day.
• Sneaking online when family members are not at home, with a sense of relief.

Think you know people who may be internet junkies? Consider having an awareness campaign to teach people about the symptoms and what they can do about it.