The fight against addiction continues
On Tuesday, the 5th of November a new piece of law was added to the Chinese constitution, adding to the government’s explicit position against the growing addiction to gaming present in its youth. This law puts some harsh, though possibly reasonable, restrictions on gaming for children and to some extent, don’t completely confuse me.
- All children under the age of 18 are restricted from playing video game for no longer than 90 minutes a day.
- On weekends kids will be allowed three hours per day.
- Children cannot game from 10 p.m to 8 a.m.
- Hard limit of between $28 and $57 a month for items.
What is the effect of the compulsive gaming to the youth of China which requires such drastic action? Well apparently, “poor academic performance across a broad swath of society” as reported by the New York Times seems to be the issue. Children, with their registered accounts for gaming, will now have to abide by the new legislation with immediate effect, in order, to up their grades I guess.
Is gaming addiction associated with poor academics? No, not exclusively – any time-absorbing activity other than gaming could steal hours from behind a desk writing notes. However, what is exclusive about gaming is the sensory input; screens tend to make children unnaturally drowsy, unfocused, apathetic and above all, aggressive to ending a session, though this last one depends on the severity of the addiction.
So, is this controversial? No, in my honest opinion, as someone who deals with children all the time, I believe that China is actually leading the world in regulating gaming for youth. Of course, however, I don’t know how I would have survived at the age of 17 playing only an hour and a half of Call of Duty a day.
Will this affect the turnover for Chinese esports professionals?
Let us know what you think in the comments section below!
