China’s new restriction on video games that bans anyone under the age of 18 from playing Monday through Thursday is progressive and forward-thinking, and the U.S. needs to follow suit.
The country's youth can now only play video games for up to one hour a day Friday through Sunday and on public holidays, according to an Aug. 31 Wall Street Journal article.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) said it’s setting these strict limits because video games are the root cause of societal ills including distracting young people from school and family responsibilities, according to the same Wall Street Journal article.
The CCP isn’t wrong.
Children spend too much time playing video games and it distracts them from the real world.
The regulation will be enforced by an online “anti-addiction” system operated by the CCP’s state-owned National Press and Publication Administration. The regulation requires all users to register using their real names and government-issued identification documents, according to the same Wall Street Journal article.
While I can admit that China’s policy is far too intrusive with the use of real-name IDs, the country is headed in the right direction regarding video game restrictions.
Take it from someone who has put in thousands of hours playing video games, video game time should be restricted by the government.
Believe me, it’s difficult for me to say this. I’ve loved video games all my life.
I have put in an innumerable amount of hours on popular video games such as Call of Duty, Battlefield, Counter-Strike and Overwatch.
Although I passionately enjoy playing video games, it comes at a profound cost.
Prolonged video game use is commonly associated with a gradual deterioration of one’s physical health through symptoms including carpal tunnel syndrome, gamer’s thumb, obesity and eye strain, according to a Dec. 22, 2020 Harvard Health article.
The symptoms of chronic video game playing is no joke. I have felt each of those symptoms over the years: the eye strain, headaches, wrist pain and sleep deprivation.
The most impressive part of China’s ban is the age restriction.
The future of the world, the youth, needs all the protection and sustainability it can get.
According to the book “Glow Kids,” by Dr. Nicholas Kardaras, recent brain-imaging studies conclusively show that excessive screen exposure can neurologically damage a young person’s developing brain in the same way that cocaine addiction does.
Who wants their child’s brain to look like they regularly use cocaine, when in reality what they're doing is playing video games with their friends?
U.S. parents echoed admiration and support for China’s ban to reporter Helen Coster from international news organization Reuters.
"Oh, that's an idea," a parent told Coster in a Sept. 1 Reuters article. "My American gut instinct: This is sort of an infringement on rights and you don't get to tell us what to do inside of our own homes.”
However, that same parent said it would be a lot more attainable to regulate their kids' video game time if it wasn't just arguing with mom, but actually saying 'Well, the police said so.'”
The CCP’s allotment of three hours of video games time is perfectly reasonable and inhibits sedentary behavior, which especially for kids, isn’t ideal.
Sedentary lifestyles can put individuals at an increased risk of obesity, cancer, depression and cognitive functions, according to a Nov. 19, 2020 U.S. National Center for Biotechnology Information research article.
Dr. David Daum, SJSU kinesiology assistant professor, said many people around the world were forced to live an inactive lifestyle during the coronavirus pandemic.
“Sedentary lifestyles, regardless of what you're doing, are bad for your health,” Daum said.
As a former video game addict, I approve of China’s governmental decision to limit children’s online video game playtime to three hours a weekend and I await a similar U.S. decision.
Other countries need to take notes.
Video games are a proven cause of negative health effects and need to be regulated, not as an infringement but as a savior.
Children need to learn to live in reality, not in the fictional worlds of electronic games.
