Nearly 15% of teenagers in Shanghai are addicted to the Internet and online games, an AFP report, citing a survey conducted by the Shanghai Youth Federation, said.
The report said the Shanghai Youth Federation conducted the survey across 35 schools in the thriving metropolis.
The survey, according to the report, found just over 14% of students aged 11 to 17 were addicted or mildly addicted to playing on computers, while another 0.5% were severely addicted.
'Internet addiction is caused by overuse as well as (the medium's) bad culture, which has negative effects on the psychological and physical development of teenagers,' Shanghai Youth Federation chairman Ma Chunlei, quoted by the AFP report, said.
Local media also reported that boys were more likely to become addicted to computers than girls.
China has an Internet population of 111 million with the vast majority of web users aged under 24, the reports said.