China, in its concern for/over gaming addiction, has drastically cut allowed gaming time for children. This is most likely the wrong approach.
A few days ago, I read in an old copy of my local newspaper that, starting in September 2021, the Chinese government passed legislation that restricts minors' gaming time to just a few hours on Friday nights, weekends and public holidays.
China's minors are allowed to play computer and video games for only an hour a night (between 20:00 and 21:00) on Fridays, weekends and public holidays, according to the newspaper article. This new rule was introduced at the beginning of September 2021. According to the state's media service, the rule is intended to reduce gaming addiction.
The drastic move isn't exactly atypical for the country, which has a history of taking restrictive action against gaming and gamers. These include a cyber curfew restricting gaming to a few hours a night and set in 2019, forcing players to use their real names and IDs (ala Blizzard and Warcraft). Some parents have even gone as far as sending their children to military-style anti-gaming boot camps!
Clearly, China takes gaming addiction (and efforts to prevent it) seriously, but it seems to be associating a lot of time spent gaming with gaming addiction (which isn't necessarily the case). I wonder if the regulation is not perhaps too harsh, heavy-handed or overzealous, since the way the World Health Organisation identifies gaming addiction is different:
"... characterized by impaired control over gaming, increasing priority given to gaming over other activities to the extent that gaming takes precedence over other interests and daily activities, and continuation or escalation of gaming despite the occurrence of negative consequences.
It's not about the time spent, but about the attitude(s), behaviour(s) and level of intensity in engagement exhibited by those who are afflicted. Addiction means "being compelled or obsessed to the point where other things in life are falling apart" due to time and energy committed to a particular activity, such as gaming, (not just the time itself). There's a big difference between being enthusiastic/passionate and being addicted. Gaming addiction is like gambling addiction. If someone doesn't exhibit the three symptoms (loss of control/awareness of time spent, prioritising gaming over other activities and ignoring negative effects in other areas/aspects of one's life) for at least three months, the time spent has no negative long-term effects. If anything, some studies show that gaming actually has beneficial/positive effects on children's development.
As someone who spends considerable time gaming and associating with fellow gamers, I can attest to/concur with the article's assertion that we are drawn to gaming (particularly co-op/multiplayer and online) as a way to spend time with friends [and challenge ourselves in the process].
Three Hours a Week is Not Much
Even when strict rules are introduced, most gamers will do their best to flout them.
The average committed/enthusiastic gamer easily spends three hours a day on games. (When I was a kid, I was allowed two hours a day on either games or watching TV, provided I first did my homework. I found that restrictive). An hour a day at the end of the week is positively stifling. Another factor to consider is that players are forced to play at the same time, in a limited window, that's going to puit a lot of stress on Asian servers and cause a lot of lag (something gamers hate with a passion). There'll probably be a massive shift to using platforms such as Steam and accessing servers through VPNs. Where there's a will, there's a way and the tech-savvy will find it. The online world always adapts and overcomes.
Source: Joane Orlando (reseacher in children's behaviour and technology, Sydney University); "China Puts it's Foot Down"; The Natal Witness; September 9, 2021; PP. Pg. 9
Post thumbnail image by Pixabay from/on Pexels
