The people’s republic of China- the world's most populous country, with a population of around 1.404 billion, and a unified multi-ethnic country located in East Asia with the fastest growing economy, has passed a new curfew for their gamer youth. Gamers between 16 and 18 are allowed to spend 400 yuan, or around 58 USD, while those from 8-16 years old have 200 yuan, a relatively meager 29 USD, of spending money on their games and online assets.
China implemented and enforced these new regulations in some locations as soon as November of 2019, yet, it is still to be confirmed if these efforts have been effective in limiting the screen time of Gamers in China. In WHO’s 11th International Classification of Diseases in 2018, “gaming disorder”, had been included, prompting China to take efforts. This, paired with the inclining near-sightedness of Chinese youth, has pushed China into adding these restrictions and even more - but is it beneficial? A study from the University of Rochester answers a resounding “yes”.
Chart by the University of Rochester showing the relation between screen time over prolonged periods and vision.
Vision seems to negatively correlate with screen time, increasing nearsightedness with more exposure to screens.
Decreasing screen time in youth can be assumed to show a drastic increase in level of vision, motor responses, and motion perception, decreasing China’s rate of 53.6% for nearsightedness.
According to an NHC official Zhang Yong, “The nearsightedness among Chinese teenagers has become severe in recent years as more teenagers are affected at a younger age, an official of NHC Zhang Yong told a press conference”.
Zhang continues, “the misuse of eyes, such as insufficient outdoor exercise, inadequate sleep time, an excessive amount of after-school work and near-vision work and abuse or improper use of electronic devices, are the main causes of high myopia rate among Chinese children and junior adults”, leaving no question on the fact that vision is decreased or even ruined by screen time and video games. China’s curfew may be predicted to show increased results and effectiveness.
Many gamers, such as professional Jian Zihao, have retired at a young age due to bad health and other video-game-related medical concerns. Zihao, like many others, has been harmed severely by diabetes, another effect of prolonged stagnant gaming. Both China and Zihao have fought with gaming addiction, Zihao attempting to resolve his issue by simply gaming less, however, he still has major health concerns due to an unhealthy diet and type 2 diabetes.
However, health is not the only concern of these games. China has faced several issues concerning:
E-Sports Betting
Illegal Trade
Bad Sportsmanship
Severe Anger Issues
Broken Relations
Loss of Childhood Experience
Gambling
All of these, paired with the previously stated concerns, makes gaming a large threat to China. For example, China has seen a rapid increase in rage among youth, which have been reprimanded for their angry habits. Some even go so far as to publicly taunt their opponents. Some of these “harmless games” have lead to the suicide of many youth, one of which is Zhang Xiaoyi, who jumped to his death after playing World of Warcraft for 36 consecutive hours.
According to China Daily, “Zhang Xiaoyi, a junior high school student from Tianjin with excellent grades, committed suicide on December 27, 2004, after playing Warcraft for 36 hours consecutively at a game hall.
He plunged from the top of the 24-story building where he lived. His suicide note said he wanted to join the heroes of the game he worshipped.
After examining his school records, his 80,000-character diary about online games, and the suicide note, a hospital in Beijing concluded that "Zhang had excessively indulged in unhealthy games and was addicted to the Internet."
The incident caused a public outcry over the harmful effect of addictive games on minors and triggered calls to limit the sale of such games. The parents brought a lawsuit against Blizzard in the United States, but a court in Tianjin refused to put the case on record. “
In sum, China’s purposeful efforts, although possibly drastic, may be a diving line, determining the fate of Chinese youth and the general population.
China, being the largest country, with the greatest economic growth, should not have concerns over trivial games and policies, however, these policies are necessary to the growth, sustainability, and expansion of China as a whole.
Until then, China can only take one step at a time towards the preservation of youth, vision, and peace.
Sources
“Over Half of Chinese Youth Nearsighted in 2018 - Xinhua | English.News.Cn.” XINHUANET, 2018, www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-04/29/c_138022497.htm#:%7E:text=BEIJING%2C%20April%2029%20(Xinhua)%2D%2D,Monday%20at%20a%20press%20conference.
“Parents Sue Game Distributor over Son’s Suicide.” China Daily, 2021, www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2006-05/12/content_588456.htm.
Patenaude, Monique. “Brain Training Video Games Help Improve Kids Vision.” NewsCenter, 12 July 2018, www.rochester.edu/newscenter/brain-training-video-games-help-low-vision-kids-see-better-201322.
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