November 8, 2019, Kathmandu
The Chinese government has fixed the playing time and spending limits for the purpose of relieving children of online gaming addiction. People under the age of 18 will no longer be able to play online games from 10pm to 8 am. In addition, you will only be able to play online games for 90 minutes on normal days and 3 hours on holidays.
In terms of online games, China has the world’s largest market. Chinese children, teenagers, and young people seem to be spending most of their time on mobile. Most of them play video games. The government has fixed time limits on the playing time so that the addiction can be relieved.
Chinese government fixed the time and spending limits of playing online games from last Tuesday, with the conclusion that playing online games for a long time has a bad impact on mental as well as physical health of the individual.
People ranging from 8 to 16 years can spend up to 200 yuan a month (about Rs. 3,400) on online games. Young people in the age group of 16 to 18 years will be able to spend up to 400 yuan a month (about Rs.6,800).
Visual Impairment and Mental Health Weaknesshas been found in children playing online games for a long time. Therefore, in the year 2018, China had set up a new gaming regulatory body imposing a ban on online video game production.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has termed online addiction as ‘gaming disorder’ linked to mental illness. Although the recently formed American Psychiatry Association has not formally listed it in the psychiatric regulations,however, it does say that further studies on online gaming disorders are needed to categorize it as a mental illness.
Some countries have viewed playing video games as a major public health problem. In some places, few private clinics have been opened for its treatment.