Exposure to the Internet leads to family turmoil, virtual kidnapping and death, according to “China’s Official Gateway to News & Information”. Several stories in April share a similar alarmist tone: a mother gets addicted to the Internet, and runs off with her “Cyber Boyfriend”; a high school boy must be “rescued” from an Internet cafe after four days of continuous computer usage; two junior middle school students die after a 48-hour gaming binge at an Internet cafe.
Not to undermine the tragedy of any of these circumstances, but these articles reek of anti-Internet propaganda. They read like Brothers Grimm morality tales with an obvious message: Internet addicts beware, the big bad Web is trolling for you.
