Opinion: China shows tough attitude towards adolescent gaming

Video games could be as powerful as any other traditional sports as long as children are under the effective guidance of society.

Esports is an emerging industry around the world with a comparatively short history. It is a business world built around video games. Even though video games are virtual, the user experience and their products, with the help of technology like facial recognition and VR, are super real.

In the world of esports, pros can begin their careers as early as 13. Physical sports require athletes to complete adolescence to become a professional because athletes’ bodies require maturation to be ready for high-level performance. However, esports players retire sooner than physical athletes. While most athletes retire in their late thirties or early forties, esports players peak in their early twenties and retire in their mid-twenties.

In recent years, the industry has developed rapidly in places like China, Korea and North America. According to market research by Niko Partners, by 2020 China was the world’s largest video game market with approximately 720 million gamers. Roughly 110 million were under the age of 18.

However, the rapid development of esports revealed many negative issues related to children, such as game addiction and violent behavior. This pushed China to announce some new rules to prevent children from video game addiction.

On January 18, 2022, China’s tech giant Tencent announced a strict weekly 14-hour limit for kids under 18 during the Winter holiday. The four-week winter break during Chinese New Year brings an influx of adolescent gaming, which the country hopes to stave.

I think this new regulation is unreasonable. I started to play video games when I was in middle school, and I was a good student. I was able to play video games only when my homework was done and during holidays. For me, two hours a day was nowhere near the max amount of hours I could play---especially on holidays. Because video games are time-consuming. This is why I disagree with the new laws. The new rule allows kids to play for only half an hour a day. For games like League of Legends, half an hour is not even enough time to complete a match.

This argument is built upon the premise that playing video games does not teach children anything. I disagree. Even beyond enjoyment, video games provided me with lots of other things, like problem-solving, social connections, and creativity. When I played MOBA games like League, I learned about the importance of teamwork and how to stay calm and find solutions under duress.

The purpose of this regulation is to prevent video game addiction and improve both mental and physical health, but I don’t think it would work that way. Video games are just one aspect of people’s lives. In the Internet era, there are so many things that can affect children’s development, like TV shows, movies and table games. If a reduction of time from video games could definitely become time for learning or physical exercise, then these sanctions would make sense. However, no one can completely ensure that would happen. When I was younger and not allowed to play video games for extended periods, I would try to do something else like watching TV---not reading. I never heard of time restrictions on TV shows or films consumption for children, so it will not work for esports regulations.

There’s no doubt that video games could be addictive to those without self-control. But anything has its positive and negative parts. I believe there are better ways of limiting screen time for children without taking away the integral aspects that make video games fun. Video games and other aspects of children’s life are closely connected. For example, video game characters’ vivid animation effects spark creativity. I believe we can make good use of its strengths.

Children should be allowed to play more than half an hour a day during holidays. These days, there has been too much pressure on children’s shoulders to perform well in school, and gaming is a great way to relax. Instead of directly limiting children’s screening time, government and tech giants should think more about what activities should replace that period of time. Most importantly, video games should not become a stigmatized act. Everything is a double sword, as well as video games. As long as the whole society guides children to correctly make use of gaming, it will be a great tool to educate children and enrich their lives.

While the world is seeing a gradual destigmatization of gaming, more work is to be done if it is to be kept that way.