Good for them China imposes 3 playing hours a week for young gamers photo from Nikkei Asia
Youth

Good for them: China imposes 3 playing hours a week for young gamers

Aug 31, 2021, 5:31 AM
Heloise Diamante

Heloise Diamante

Writer

In a policy worth emulating everywhere in the world including the Philippines, China has clamped down on video playing hours of its young people to protect their health and combat gaming addiction among teenagers.

IN a move worthy of being implemented here in the country, Beijinghas imposed new rules for Chinese youth to follow when playing video games.

Under the new regulations, they can only play for one hour a day on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays.

The National Press and Publication Administration (NAAP), China’s top watchdog for gaming and other forms of online media, hopes the new rules will combat gaming addiction among teenagers.

Previously, the limit allowed minors to play video games for 90 minutes each day, except at night between 10:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m., and 3 hours on statutory holidays.

"Teenagers are the future of our motherland," Xinhua quoted an unnamed NPPA spokesperson as saying.

"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."

Additionally, gaming companies will be barred from providing services to minors outside the stipulated hours and must ensure to put real-name verifications in place.

While others have supported the new measures, others are calling it “fierce” and claims the children will just use their parents’ logins.

To avoid kids from sneaking their gaming at night or using their parents’ logins, gaming giant Tencent rolled out a facial recognition software in July in compliance with the country’s anti-addiction law.

China’s crackdown on gaming strengthened around the time of national lockdowns from Covid-19.

The state media outlet even described online games as “spiritual opium.”

China’s tech giants have aired their support of the new rule saying they will make every effort to follow it.

The NPPA regulator told Xinhua it would increase the frequency and intensity of inspections for online gaming companies to ensure they were putting in place time limits and anti-addiction systems.

Tags: #onlinegaming, #gamingaddiction, #minors, #China


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