This study presented a follow-up investigation of a series of studies about Taiwanese adolescents' Internet addiction. Through analyzing a series of questionnaires, 10 Taiwanese adolescents with Internet addiction were selected for in-depth interviews. Adolescents' interview data revealed the following: First, almost all of the interviewed adolescents exhibited most of the symptoms of Internet addiction as identified by previous studies, including compulsive use and withdrawal, tolerance, and related problems of school, health, family, finance, and time management. Moreover, almost all of the interviewed adolescents stated that messages on the Internet became the primary source of their information and knowledge. Many of them were addicted to the messages and activity on the Internet, but not by the Internet as a medium per se. Also, the world of the Internet seemed to become a place to relieve adolescents' depression. Most of the interviewed adolescents self-declared that they were Internet addicts, but none of them could clearly state what to do with such an addiction. Psychologists and educators should pay more attention to this and then propose possible solutions for adolescents.
This study describes an effective web-based learning strategy, peer review, used by 143 computer science undergraduate students in an operating systems class at a Taiwanese university. Peer review, based on social constructivism, can be easily implemented via the authors' well-developed web-based peer review (WPR) system. Through peer review, the authors hope to form an authentic learning environment similar to an academic society in which a researcher submits a paper to a journal and receives reviews from society members before publication. Students using this learning strategy are expected to develop higher level thinking skills. The WPR system functioned in the following roles in this study: (1) an information distribution channel and management center for assignment submissions and peer review; (2) a forum for peer interaction and knowledge construction; and (3) storage for knowledge construction procedures. An evaluation of learning effects and students' perceptions about peer review during the spring of 1998 revealed that students not only performed better under peer review, but also displayed higher level thinking skills, i.e., critical thinking, planning, monitoring, and regulation. Students perceived peer review as an effective strategy that promoted their learning motivation. However, merely being an effective reviewer or an effective author may not excel in a peer review environment. The most effective individual appears to be the strategic adapter who effectively constructs a project, adjusts to peers' comments, and serves as a critical reviewer as well.