Male net addicts take up knitting

Some male students at the Hebei University of Science and Technology learnt to knit scarves, usually seen as a hobby for girls, in order to break their Internet addiction, reported the Yanzhao Evening News on Wednesday.

Tian Xuepeng, a 22-year-old student majoring in vehicle management, is busy knitting a scarf for his girlfriend. "I began to weave scarf to stop my Internet addiction," said Tian.

Tian tried to practice harmonica and hip-hop to escape his net addiction but failed. "How about knitting a scarf for me?" suggested Zhang Bo, his girlfriend, adding that Tian should not care if others laugh at him, as long as she supports him. Tian has spent less time online since he began to knit the scarf.

Wang Shihui, the owner of a wool shop in the university, said some boys also came to the shop to learn to make woollen knitwear. "Their passion and understanding is equal to girls," said Wang.

"I would rather see the boys knit scarves than play online games," said Bai Jinbo, Tian's teacher.