ISTOCKOnlinegamingaddictionisdamagingthephysicalandmentalhealthofyouthJustbeforethisyear鈥檚nationalcollegeentranceexam,orthegaokao,onJune7-8,aletterfromadespairingmotherofstudentmadeabigsplashonWeibo,aChineseTwitter-likemicrobloggingplatform.Themotherdescribedhowherson,whousedtobeanoutstandinglearner,failedtheexamduetohisaddictiontoonlinegamesandfellintoastateofdepression.
ThemotherhopedthiscasecouldbeawarningforotherjuvenilesandalsocalledonlawmakerstolegislatealawtoregulatethedevelopmentofInternetgamecompaniessoastopreventyoungpeoplefrombecomingaddictedtotheInternet.
TheletterresonatedwithmanyChineseparents.Inrecentyears,awaveofviolent,pornographic,vulgarandfakeinformationhashitcyberspace,especiallyinthefieldsofonlinegames,shortvideos,socialmediaandlivestreaming,whichhasimpactednegativelyontheyouth.
AccordingtotheChinaInternetNetworkInformationCenter,thetotalnumberofInternetusersinChinareached772millionbytheendof2017;around23percentofthemwereagedunder19.TheageoffirsttimeaccesstotheInternetdroppedfrom15to10.
ExpertsbelievethattherapiddevelopmentoftheInternethasanimportantpositiveeffectonthemajorityofyoungchildreninlearning,leisure,entertainmentandsocialinteraction.However,childrentruststrangerseasilyandcanbeinfluencedbyonlineinformation.Theyhavedifficultiesindistinguishingtruefromfalsemessagesandareunawareofhowtoprotectthemselves.Inaddition,manyofthemindulgeinonlinegames,whichheavilyunderminestheirphysicalandmentalhealth.
鈥淚knowsomeofmyclassmatesplayonlinegamesandoftendiscussthegamesinschool.Iknowitisnotgoodfortheirstudy,鈥漵aidaprimaryschoolstudentwhorefusedtogivehisname.Headdedthathedonothavechancetoplayonlinegamesbecausehisparentsdonotallowhimto.
Enterprises鈥檈fforts
HonorofKings,amobilegamedevelopedbyChineseInternetconglomerateTencent,hasbeenahugehitinthecountrysince2015.ThenumberofitsusersinChinahasreached200million,and54percentareagedunder20.However,itsprevalencehasbeenwrappedincontroversybecausealargenumberofteenagersareaddictedtothegame.Forexample,inearlyJune2017,asinglemotherinnortheastChina鈥檚HeilongjiangProvincediscoveredhertripletsonshadrunupabillofover18,000yuan($2,700)onhercreditcardthroughin-apppurchaseswhileplayingthegame.A17-year-oldgamerinGuangzhouinsouthChina鈥檚GuangdongProvincewasdiagnosedwithcerebralinfarctioninApril2017afterplayingtheonlinegameHonorofKingsfor40hoursnonstop.
ThesearejusttwoofthemanysuchcasesrelatedtomobileInternetgamesthathavebeendoingtheroundsonline.FacingcriticismoverthegrowingnumberofyoungChineseplayershookedontheHonorofKings,Tencentintroducednewruleslimitingusersunder12toanhourofplaytimeeachdaystartingJuly2017.Thoseagedbetween12and18willbeforcedtologoutaftertwohoursperday.Anyyoungplayerwhoattemptstoplayforalongerperiodwillbeloggedoffautomaticallyandcannotlogonagainthatday.
鈥淐omparedwithparentsandgovernments,InternetcompaniesshouldplayamajorroleinpreventingchildrenfromgettingaddictedtotheInternetbecausetheycanusethedigitaltechnologytointerfere,鈥漵aidZhangJiaji,MemberoftheNationalCommitteeofChinesePeople鈥檚PoliticalConsultativeConference(CPPCC).
Toenforcetheban,thecompanyalsotightenedupitsreal-nameregistrationsystemtopreventyoungplayersfakingidentities.
InFebruary2017,TencentrolledoutamonitoringplatforminthegameHonorofKingstohelpparentssupervisetheirchildren鈥檚gameaccounts.Parentscanusethisplatformtochecktheirchildren鈥檚consumptionrecordsandrecordsofplayinggamesanytime,anywhere.Inaddition,theplatformalsoallowsparentstostoptheirchildrenplayingthegamebysimplypressingabuttonontheirowncellphones.Thisplatformisappliedtochildrenunder18.
However,toughcontrolovermobileonlinegamesisjustanexpedientmeasureandcannoteradicatetherootproblem.Alackofparentalcompanionshipistherootcauseofchildren鈥檚gameaddiction,accordingtoSunHongyan,DirectoroftheInstituteofJuvenileStudiesattheChinaYouth&ChildrenResearchCenter.Hesuggestedthatparentsshouldspendmoretimewiththeirchildrentofosterfamilyunityandtrustinsteadofhavingchildrenturntogamingalternativesbecauseofunhappinessathome.
Legalprotection
TheChineseGovernmentisalsotakingmeasurestoprotectjuvenilesfromgameaddiction.InJanuary2017,theStateCouncilreleasedafullreportanddraftregulationstosolicitpublicopinionsonhowtotackleyouthInternetaddiction.OnMay11,theCPPCCNationalCommitteeinvitedexperts,scholarsandenterpriserepresentativestodiscussthelegislationoftheRegulationsontheProtectionoftheMinorsintheCyberSpaceinBeijing.
WangFeng,MemberoftheCPPCCNationalCommitteeandtheheadoftheyouthprotectiondepartmentoftheCentralCommitteeoftheCommunistYouthLeagueofChina,believesthatcontentsupervisionshouldbeemphasizedintheregulations.Enterprisesshouldsupervisetheinformationthatisinappropriateforminorstoaccess,whichisactuallydescribedintheexistingCriminalLawandCyberSecurityLaw.Familiesandschoolsshouldalsoplayaleadingroleinensuringthatchildrendonotoversteptheboundariesonline,accordingtoJiangLiping,MemberoftheCPPCCNationalCommittee.
鈥淎tpresent,someparentslackthescientificandeffectivemethodstoguideminorsintherightapproachontheInternet;someparentsneglecttosuperviseandleavethe鈥業nternetaddicts鈥檌nthewronghands,andsomeparentsthemselveslacksufficientknowledgeandunderstandingoftheInternet,鈥漵aidJiang,addingthatparentsarerequiredtomakethemselvesawareofthepitfallsoftheInternettohelptheirchildrennipanyInternetaddictioninthebud.
LiYouyi,PrincipalofNo.12MiddleSchoolinBeijing,proposedinthemeetingthatprimaryandsecondaryschoolsshouldestablishanearly-stagesecuritywarningnetworkandreportingsystemforteenagers.鈥淎llkindsofsecurityissuesdiscoveredintheminor鈥檚cyberlife,suchasInternetaddiction,cyberbullying,onlinepornography,cyberviolence,cyberfraudandcyberreactionshouldbereportedtotheeducationadministrativedepartmentsothattheycananalyzeandsolvetheseproblemsintime,鈥漵aidLi.
**Commentsto