Andrew Sullivan and the Rich Kid in Internet Rehab

• 40:19Alex describes his friend who went to internet rehab and is still there.
• 40:33Tim notes Alex has a patrician way of speaking, like a young version of Lois Griffin's father from Family Guy.
• 41:12Upper East Side Manhattan kids have crazy names, which Tim used to make up funny ones like Leopold, Barnabas, and Stanton when talking to Alex.
• 41:41The internet rehab kid is another rich person, but most people go to rehab for synthetic heroin, not internet addiction.
• 42:21Stanton played video games all day after college started, struggling to make friends despite being pre-med at a good school.
• 42:56When Stanton couldn't make real friends, he turned to internet forums, 4chan, and online gaming where he met people from around the world.
• 43:31He inverted his sleep schedule because his online friends were Australian and all over the world, leading him to fail all his classes.
• 44:23After dropping out and coming home, things got worse, leading to his parents sending him to rehab.
• 45:17Rich kid Stanton started scouring the streets like a meth addict looking for public Wi-Fi kiosks to play League of Legends in December.
• 46:47His parents found him sitting on the street next to a filthy Wi-Fi kiosk with his laptop, which became the last straw for internet rehab.
• 47:33It's harder to explain to people that your rich kid is addicted to Reddit than to say he got involved with drugs.
• 48:33The program is called Restart, a multi-month facility with no electronics or books allowed, focusing on building social skills through talking to people.
• 49:08Stanton wasn't allowed to contact Alex for the first months, eventually earning the privilege to exchange written messages like Abigail Adams.
• 49:45After several months in rehab, the next phase involves getting a flip phone and a job in Seattle to learn real-world interaction and responsibility.

Restartinternet addictionLeague of LegendsRedditSeattleWorld of Warcraft