Web Junkie

Synopsis

The film focuses on the Chinese government's classification of internet addiction as a clinical disorder and focuses on the treatment used in Chinese rehabilitation centres.

Reception

Web Junkie received mostly positive reviews upon its premiere at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 67% rating based on reviews from 6 critics, with an average score of 6.1/10.

Dennis Harvey of Variety, said in his review that "A bizarre and entertaining documentary about China's attempts to reprogram its Internet-addicted youth." Duane Byrge in his review for The Hollywood Reporter called the film "A startling look at China’s Internet addiction centers." Drew Taylor from Indiewire praised the film by saying that "The specificity of the documentary...is one of its biggest strengths since it is able to place you right alongside these kids...But it also has the effect of being even more heartbreaking." Dan Fienberg of HitFix gave the film grade B and said that "Web Junkie is a little sad, a little funny and a little scary. I'd say that I wish it had been a little more provocative, but I'm sure conversations after screenings will serve some of that purpose and those are conversations worth having." In her review for The Telegraph, Amber Wilkinson praised the directors of the film that "Directors Shosh Shlam and Hilla Medalia get a remarkable amount of access to one of 400 rehabilitation camps set up in China." However Dan Schindel of Movie Mezzanine criticized the film by saying that "What really undoes the film is its formlessness."