The number of young Internet addicts had soared to 24 million by 2009, almost double the figure for 2005, as the nation's Internet population continues to skyrocket, a survey shows.

Survey by China Youth Association for Network Development.[China Daily]

The addicts accounted for one in seven young Internet users, according to the poll.

"The survey results highlight the worrying situation of the ever-growing number of young Internet addicts," Hao Xianghong, secretary-general of the China Youth Association for Network Development (CYAND), said yesterday at a press conference to release the results.

The findings come against the backdrop of an increasing number of children and young adults receiving controversial re-education or treatment to fight Internet addiction at rehabilitation schools, camps and clinics dotted across the country.

Last year, governments at all levels sprung into action, closing down cyber cafes and announcing plans to install filtering software on every computer.

The nation's Internet population, already the world's largest, soared nearly 30 percent in 2009 to 384 million, of which one in three was younger than 19, according to the China Internet Network Information Center.

The new survey polled more than 7,000 people aged 6 to 29 in 30 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions from last September to January. It has been conducted every two years since 2005 by CYAND.

As many as 15.6 percent of netizens aged 18 to 23 were Internet addicts, accounting for the largest percentage compared with other age groups, while 8.8 percent of Internet users aged 6 to 12 were web addicts, the lowest percentage, according to the survey.

"Compared with 2005, the number of Internet addicts aged 18 to 23 has increased, while addicts in the 6-12 age group have decreased. It shows that the years of efforts by the authorities to try and prevent children from getting hooked are effective," Hao said.

"But it also shows us that more needs to be done for helping addicts aged 18 to 23, who are mainly students," he said.

Although there is no universal standard on Internet addiction, web users are defined as Internet addicts if school grades, careers or interpersonal relationships in real life are affected by overuse of the Internet, according to Ke Huixin, director and professor of the survey and statistics institute of Communication University of China, who also headed the survey.