Right time to limit online play by minors

The National Press and Publication Administration recently issued a notice setting a time period in which online game companies can provide services to minors－from 8 pm to 9 pm on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and statutory holidays.

The notice could not have come at a better time, given that a large number of parents are concerned at minors becoming increasingly addicted to online games.

In the first five months of 2020, online games invited negative public opinion across the country. In the first quarter of 2020, the consumer association in Jiangsu province received 425 complaints about minors' online games addiction, up 460 percent from a year before.

Relevant departments have urged game companies, websites and live-streaming platforms several times to upgrade their technology and introduce checks to ensure minors do not overindulge, but the minors have always found ways to bypass the checks. A China Internet Network Information Center report says the number of online game users in China reached 484 million in December 2018. Among them, those aged 12 to 16 are at high risk of internet addiction.

In December 2019, a thousand parents signed a letter calling on the authorities to strengthen supervision of online games. That explains why the Law on the Protection of Minors sets a special section aside to look into network safety for minors.

In November 2019, the State Council, China's Cabinet, issued a healthy China program (2019-30), which specifically mentioned online games as an impediment to promoting healthy development of primary and secondary school students.

With the COVID-19 pandemic confining many indoors, there is greater need for the online games industry to introduce checks to limit the time children spend online, strengthen login identity authentication and develop effective systems to address the problem of minors' online game addiction.

Limiting the time children spend online is the first step toward protecting them, but to fundamentally address this problem, joint efforts are needed from their families, schools, the government and society.

Parents should set an example by not spending too much time online themselves, strengthening communication with children and cultivating their time management ability. Schools should create awareness among students about how online addiction can hamper their life and studies. Also, gaming companies should develop games that are beneficial to young people's physical and mental development while introducing checks to limit the time they spend on these games.

BEIJING YOUTH DAILY