Chinese Government Limit Under 18s' Screen Time to 3 Hours per Weekend

Recently, the Chinese government announced that young people should only play online games for 3 hours on weekends.

Being a very restrictive country already, it isn’t a surprise that another rule has been set in place in China. Many people across this huge nation have been very disappointed by this, which is even more notable when you realise there are already over a billion people living within the country’s borders. A bigger country means a bigger effect nationally. China has also put a halt to many other western imports, such as language learning apps like Duolingo and Busuu.

This new rule will ban under 18s from playing any sort of online games from Monday to Thursday, and the remaining days will only permit gaming from 8-9pm. Also, in the government’s words, all online games will have to follow an ‘anti-addiction’ system, in which users will have to use their real names and government identification documents. Other, classified details were not revealed.

China has a huge esports industry, and many gamers are less than 18 years old. Lessening screen time could weaken the popularity and earnings of the competitors. There are many other factors to consider, such as game developers’ jobs being limited, technology becoming more and more slow in progress and other jobs and industries connected with gaming being affected.

Although many people are disappointed, there are some upsides to this rule. Firstly, gaming for too long can affect people’s eyesight, health and behaviour. Less screen time means less concerns about these issues. Secondly, less time spent on social media, including gaming chat forums, can lead to less cyberbullying, which can also affect mental health.

In conclusion, even though there are some benefits, the cons outweigh the pros, and many people are very annoyed at this new law. Preventing people from making their own choices has a bad effect on society. However, the Chinese government is adamant about their decision and it’s unlikely that they will change their mind any time soon.

By Steven Cirkovic 7C