The time has come.
China has just declared that they are limiting the number of online gaming hours for youths under 18 to just one hour each on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays. This number is down from the initial rule of 1.5 hours on any day and three hours on public holidays set in 2019.
And if you think that’s the strictest part, it’s not.
These youths can only play between 8pm and 9pm.
Curbing Gaming Addiction
Gaming has been a form of respite for many, but oftentimes, it can be easy to lose track of time when you’re too immersed in the game. This leads to many, especially the younger ones, being unable to know when to stop, eventually resulting in gaming addiction.
With 62.5% of its youths playing games on their mobile phones, on the computer, or on the console, the National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA) regulator has decided that it is time to impose stricter rules to ensure that their youths do not continue down this path of addiction.
Through more intense and higher frequency monitoring by the regulator, gaming companies will not be allowed to provide any services to those under 18 outside of the state-allocated hours, and all youths would have to use their real names to verify their identities when creating an account. New measures will have to be put in place to ensure that both the number of hours played and the amount of money spent are reduced significantly.
Of course, this sparked the question of whether the rule could really be enforced as youths could easily use their parents’ credentials to create an account instead.
In response to this, the NPPA regulator stated that gaming addiction can be curbed with the strong support and enforcement of parents and teachers.
Preventing ‘Savage Growth’ of Companies
The rule also came about in an attempt to clamp down on China’s tech giants. Beijing noted that the technological advancement of these companies has been promoting activities that are potentially at the expense of the health of the younger generation.
Thus, to undo the harms that the companies have brought about, the China government believes that it is necessary for them to spread “positive energy” amongst youths and to instill what Beijing believes to be the “correct values”.
Xinhua state news agency quoted an NPPA regulator saying, “Teenagers are the future of our motherland. Protecting the physical and mental health of minors is related to the people’s vital interests, and relates to the cultivation of the younger generation in the era of national rejuvenation.”
China’s Youths React
While most parents rejoice in the implementation of the new rule, the youths are understandably quite upset after hearing the news.
Some have remarked that the rules were way too unreasonable and strict. Some also said that the older kids shouldn’t be punished for the younger ones’ inability to control their gaming hours.
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Featured Image: TinnaPong / Shutterstock.com
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