Chinese Teen Hacks Off His Own Hand To 'Cure' Internet Addiction

Teen Cuts Off Hand To Cure Internet Addiction

A young teenager reportedly cut off his own hand with a kitchen knife, believing it to be the only solution to his internet addiction.

The 19-year-old from the city of Nantong in Jiangsu province wrote a note telling his mother he'd be going to the hospital, took a kitchen knife and then went outside and removed his left hand.

Known only as 'Little Wang' by Chinese state media, the young man then reportedly called a taxi which then took him to A&E. Incredibly, doctors were able to recover the hand and re-attach it, although it's unlikely he'll be able to regain full motor function.

There are around 24 million people in China who are classed as being in some way addicted to the internet with army-style boot camps beginning to appear around the country as a means of combating the problem.

A study conducted as far back as 2006 found that those addicted in China suffer from increased neuroticism, psychoticism and struggle with pro-social activities.

China isn't alone, with over 600 million internet users in Asia the online video games market in the region has grown massively due in part to the success of games like League of Legends and DOTA 2.

There are now a reported 282 million massively multiplayer online gamers in the Asia/Pacific region, generating $9.5bn for the games industry.

The Chinese video game market alone is showing huge growth with the sector estimated as being worth over $13bn in 2013 showing a huge $10bn increase from 2008.

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