Paediatric Internet addiction centre to open at Gemelli

(ANSA) - Rome, January 18 - A multidisciplinary centre targeting Internet addiction among children and young adolescents is to open at Rome's Gemelli hospital, sources said Monday.
    The centre integrates services already provided by the existing clinic dedicated to internet addiction and the prevention and treatment of cyberbullying, which has seen over 1,200 new patients through its doors in six years. "Pediatrics must increasingly handle problems that have behavioural and social implications," said Professor Pietro Ferrara of the Catholic University's Institute of Clinical Pediatrics.
    "In particular, the voluntary reclusion of children and adolescents who, according to the American Academy of Paediatrics, spend on average approximately seven hours a day in front of the TV or computer or on a mobile phone or other electronic device, compared to the recommended two-three.
    Similar figures have also emerged in Italy," Ferrara said.