The ill effects of “opium for the spirit”: a critical cultural analysis of China's Internet addiction moral panic

Abstract

This article examines the crisis over Internet gaming and Internet addiction in China through the lens of moral panic theory. In addition to comparing the Chinese situation to other crises over youth and technology, the uniquely Chinese attributes of this crisis are discussed. As will be shown, the emphasis on moral culture in China provides particularly fertile breeding ground for panics of this sort. Furthermore, the rhetoric employed by the media references other distinct crises over youth, westernization and morality in China's past, thus situating these contemporary problems within an extended narrative about the struggle to establish a “civilized” but uniquely Chinese modern state. An analysis of the various actors involved in the creation and development of the crisis reveals power dynamics and class issues that lie hidden within the discourse. Finally, the impact of new media and the material consequences of the media-driven Internet addiction crisis are addressed.