So, you’re thinking that your kids are spending a bit too much time with a video game controller in their hands or their laptop dialed into Fortnite, huh? Well, there’s a quick solution for you: Move to China.
I’m only kidding. But the Chinese government has recently decided to crack down on its millions of young gamers. First, a state-run newspaper equated online gaming to “spiritual opium.” And then some big restrictions were slapped on kids who dig video games (a group that represents more people than some small countries).
The new restrictions limit everyone under 18 years old to just a single hour of gaming per day, between 8 and 9 p.m. And they can only play only on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. They can get an extra hour on public holidays, too. You know, if they’re good.
How will the Chinese government enforce these rules since they apply to everything from in-home gaming consoles to personal phones? I’m not sure. But China … has its ways.
Besides, this isn’t the first time the world’s largest population has had its public consumption of video games legally squeezed. In 2019, China passed laws limiting minors to less than 1.5 hours of online games on weekdays and three hours on weekends, with no games allowed between 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. And it limited how much cash minors could spend on gaming items each month. But I guess those enforced limits didn’t really make the intended changes.
Which might be food for thought for us.
Let’s face it, some parent reading this is probably scratching his or her chin and wondering if maybe a little authoritarian rule might be the best course of action. After all, Americans can spend too much time in the gaming realm, too. (A Limelight Network study recently pointed out that while the Chinese were spending an average of 12.4 hours per week gaming, those from the good old U.S.A. weren’t far behind with 7.7 hours per.) But let’s face facts, iron fists rarely solve problems.
Now, don’t get me wrong, limits are good. And kids and teens need limits. (Even grown ups need limits.) And the American Academy of Pediatrics still says that kids 6-and-over should be reined in to 60 minutes of play on school days and 2 hours on non-school days.
But here at Plugged In, we generally suggest that a solid, well-informed family discussion is always the wisest course of action. A happy back-and-forth about why a few moderate limits are good and why too much glaze-eyed screen time is bad is a far better motivator than threatening to throw the Xbox in the trash if rules are not followed!
I’m guessing China just hasn’t been reading enough Plugged In.
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