The Borame Youth Center administered by the Seoul Archdiocese has been entrusted by the Seoul City with a project for therapy and prevention of addiction of youth to the internet. The Center will be called, I WILL center. It will be staffed with 9 qualified persons. The plan is to construct a network that will take care of all aspects of the treatment and prevention of addiction of this type. Apparently it is know that this problem is not one that goes away on its own.
I have for many years felt that the internet was the greatest discovery in my life time. It has the good and the bad but it has the potential for much good if used correctly. I compare it to the printing press. It could be a help in making us all the wiser but the use of the internet can also have many handicaps. There are physical problems that come with excessive use. You have internet sexual addiction, gaming compulsion, indiscriminate information , relationship addiction, and compulsions to use the internet. The very use of the blog that I am using can be an addiction but it can also be a service.
There is an old scholastic aphorism: Quidquid recipitur ad modum recipientis recipitur. (What ever is received is received in the mode of the one receiving.) So having a mature set of values and a basic grounding in the old fashion virtues is a prerequisite for the healthy use of the internet, or for anything.
The Cardinal at the dedication of the center prayed that the light shown on this problem will continue to grow and be a help to our young people.
