Fed up with Facebook , or coming to realise , in the words of David Cameron , ‘ too many tweets might make a t**t ’ ? It may be time to consider a short , sharp trip to the suburbs of Beijing . Here , in a collection of drab , concrete buildings surrounding a large courtyard is a military-style bootcamp designed with one thing in mind : to treat victims of a very modern disease — a compulsive addiction to electronic gadgets . Formed in 2006 , the Daxing Internet Addiction Treatment Centre ( IATC ) has so far welcomed 6,000 mostly young , mostly male patients — and claims to have ‘ cured ’ 75 per cent of them . Scroll down for video . Hooked up : With wires hanging from his head , a young boy undergoes electroencephalogram scans to measure brain activity . The centre believes internet addiction leads to brain problems similar to those from taking heroin . Online zombies : A line of dead-eyed Chinese youths play computer games at an internet cafe . The country 's government said internet addiction affects 24 million of its 632 million internet users . Smart salute : At the Daxing Internet Addiction Treatment Centre , it ’ s time to put down that mouse , pull on a camouflage T-shirt and learn to click heels , not screen icons . The man behind the facility is Tao Ran , a doctor and colonel in the People ’ s Liberation Army , regarded as China ’ s leading expert in wangyin , or internet addiction , which is said by the country ’ s government to affect 24 million of its 632 million internet users . He describes wangyin as a form of mental illness , saying that 90 per cent of his patients are clinically depressed from a lack of normal social interaction . Many have back and eyesight problems due to spending up to 14 hours a day staring at screens , and a third suffer from eating disorders . ‘ Internet addiction leads to problems in the brain similar to those derived from heroin consumption but , generally , it ’ s even more damaging , ’ Mr Ran said recently . ‘ It destroys relationships and deteriorates the body without the person knowing. ’ To break it , Mr Ran confiscates all electronic devices from patients and forces them to follow a super-strict , military-style fitness regime , starting with parade drills at 6.30 each morning . They must also endure occasional spells in solitary confinement and take regular medication . Progress is monitored by psychiatric assessments and regular brain scans . Mr Ran only considers someone cured if , six months after their release , they use the internet for fewer than six hours per day . Some critics have called the techniques brutal . But they also yield results and there is high demand for places : the IATC , which charges £1,000 per month ( more than twice the average Chinese urban worker ’ s wage ) recently expanded , so it can treat 130 patients at any one time . Work that body : Military-style drills , exercises and weekly tai chi sessions help the young addicts to shed their indoor pallor . Open wide : A nurse checks that 14-year-old Yin Yu Tao has taken his medication — all part of the £1,000-a-month bootcamp . It isn ’ t alone : there are around 300 such clinics in China , due largely to an explosion in the popularity of online games such as World Of Warcraft . Many internet cafes have beds , so customers can sleep at their keyboards , and Shanghai recently passed a law forcing parents to stop minors ‘ being overindulgent with online and electronic games ’ . Meanwhile in Japan , where Facebook and Twitter are national obsessions , there are dozens of so-called internet ‘ fasting camps ’ . Taiwan is also facing up to internet addiction — in January , its government voted to fine parents who allow children to spend ‘ excessive time using electronic products ’ . Tough love : Good posture is required at the super-strict bootcamp . Here , pupil Zhai Ye is encouraged to stand straight . No rest for the internet addicted : The day starts at 6.30am and is run with military precision , even for this very young inmate .
Dax ##tra Addiction Treatment clinic in Beijing has welcomed 800 patients since it opened its doors in 2006 . The military - style bootcamp claims to have cured 75 per cent of their addiction to electronic gadgets . internet addiction or wangyin is said to affect 24 % of the China 's 632 million internet users .