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China has forbidden under-18s from playing games for more than three hours/week

reuters.com

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Re: China has forbidden under-18s from playing games for more than three hours/week

#81

Post by techdragon »

eunos wrote: post #49
namelessoracle wrote: post #7

I have mixed feelings about this. Younger me learned a lot of problem solving skills and most importantly spent a lot of time learning how to read by playing RPGs and games that required lots of reading. My reading skills would not have been as advanced if i wasn't playing text heavy games that had a lot of plot like Square Enix games and the CRPGs of the time. Modern games though are clearly designed to get you as a…

It's limited to the online game because the check is on server side rather than client (console/phone) side since it utilizes national ID data you provide when registering.

Do you have a source for that? From the article it sounds like the expectation is that all games should be implementing mechanisms to limit this. But that could just be poor reporting by Reuters ( not unsurprising for a breaking foreign government regulation change like this )

Re: China has forbidden under-18s from playing games for more than three hours/week

#82

Post by bradlys »

TedDoesntTalk wrote: post #62
brundolf wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The time I spent in virtual worlds as a child remains one of the most cherished experiences of my life. They brought me happiness at times when nothing else did. They stoked my imagination and gave me a sense of wonder. They were one of the few avenues I had for connecting with my peers. It wasn't some waste of time that I regret when I look back as an adult.

That is interesting. I have a family friend, 20-years old and in college, who has maybe 1 or 2 friends in real life. All others are online gaming friends that he's had for years. Never met them. Of course he's gaming all the time because of that social network. I wish I knew the implications to such people when they are older. Is it a good influence? bad influence? doesn't matter? I don't know. Do you have any insigh…

Doesn’t matter. Probably positive if anything.

A lot of children don’t hermit up and play video games because it’s better than being with friends - it’s because they don’t have any friend options in real life.

Where I grew up, I was shunned, bullied, and neglected by pretty much everyone. It became apparent I was actually quite social, funny, and pleasant to be around when I was online. I made a lot of friends quickly when I was online playing games. But in real life I struggled because I wasn’t the right race, didn’t look the right way, wasn’t willing to throw out homophobic and racial slurs, and didn’t enjoy the same activities as everyone else.

I’m really surprised HN has such a myopic 80-year old take on video games. Must be because it’s early still…

Re: China has forbidden under-18s from playing games for more than three hours/week

#83

Post by bhhaskin »

bserge wrote: post #31
mrfusion wrote: post #5

I wonder why China feels so afraid of games.

Most of them are addicting time wasting shit. Especially mobile games, good God. Show me a mobile game that has a good story, little grind, works offline and sells for ~$60 with no in-game purchases. Phones are as capable as a PS3/PS4 these days, too.

Monument valley 1 & 2.

Re: China has forbidden under-18s from playing games for more than three hours/week

#84

Post by pessimizer »

moogly wrote: post #53
tgv wrote: post #8

Anyone want to argue why this would be bad, apart from restricting freedom? BTW, nothing in the article about limits on TikTok or YouTube or whathaveyougot. That's as much opium as gaming, IMO.

Deathknell for esports.

Maybe the opposite. China isn't banning kids from watching people play video games. Substitute drug.

Re: China has forbidden under-18s from playing games for more than three hours/week

#86

Post by jacknews »

brundolf wrote: post #28
tgv wrote: post #8

Anyone want to argue why this would be bad, apart from restricting freedom? BTW, nothing in the article about limits on TikTok or YouTube or whathaveyougot. That's as much opium as gaming, IMO.

The time I spent in virtual worlds as a child remains one of the most cherished experiences of my life. They brought me happiness at times when nothing else did. They stoked my imagination and gave me a sense of wonder. They were one of the few avenues I had for connecting with my peers. It wasn't some waste of time that I regret when I look back as an adult.

I'm quite happy for my kids to spend hours playing online when they are playing together with friends. They start up discord audio rooms or whatever and play as a team.

Of course, playing with a ball in a field might be better, but, covid.

I don't allow them to play single-player games so much, unless it's something original, story or experience-based. Undertale, Braid, Journey, etc.

Certainly nothing 'infinite scrolling', with in-app purchase level-ups, etc, which are obviously just calculated to be addictive.

Re: China has forbidden under-18s from playing games for more than three hours/week

#87

Post by blibble »

rolobio wrote: post #12
brundolf wrote: post #2

I wonder how Blizzard is feeling about throwing in with the CCP right about now

Probably having a hard time thinking straight with all the piles of money around them?

they've lost 50% of their users in 4 years

and this was before the recent PR disaster

Re: China has forbidden under-18s from playing games for more than three hours/week

#88

Post by sudosysgen »

bradlys wrote: post #82
TedDoesntTalk wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is interesting. I have a family friend, 20-years old and in college, who has maybe 1 or 2 friends in real life. All others are online gaming friends that he's had for years. Never met them. Of course he's gaming all the time because of that social network. I wish I knew the implications to such people when they are older. Is it a good influence? bad influence? doesn't matter? I don't know. Do you have any insigh…

Doesn’t matter. Probably positive if anything. A lot of children don’t hermit up and play video games because it’s better than being with friends - it’s because they don’t have any friend options in real life. Where I grew up, I was shunned, bullied, and neglected by pretty much everyone. It became apparent I was actually quite social, funny, and pleasant to be around when I was online. I made a lot of friends quickl…

Well yes that's true. But at the same time a lot of your potential real life friends are also going to be playing video games instead of being sociable in real life.

I do empathize with you a lot having had a very similar experience in my youth. But ultimately finding people that were like me in real life was crucial.

Re: China has forbidden under-18s from playing games for more than three hours/week

#89

Post by xeromal »

TedDoesntTalk wrote: post #62
brundolf wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The time I spent in virtual worlds as a child remains one of the most cherished experiences of my life. They brought me happiness at times when nothing else did. They stoked my imagination and gave me a sense of wonder. They were one of the few avenues I had for connecting with my peers. It wasn't some waste of time that I regret when I look back as an adult.

That is interesting. I have a family friend, 20-years old and in college, who has maybe 1 or 2 friends in real life. All others are online gaming friends that he's had for years. Never met them. Of course he's gaming all the time because of that social network. I wish I knew the implications to such people when they are older. Is it a good influence? bad influence? doesn't matter? I don't know. Do you have any insigh…

While it's hard to make large generalizations, some people just don't make friends easily in real life and gaming/the internet give them a means to be themselves without having to worry about being awkward so taking that away is almost the same as telling them to not make any friends.

On the other hand, I've definitely seen an echo chamber effect where some people have negative growth socially due to the internet/gaming. E.G. The red pill or incel channels.

Re: China has forbidden under-18s from playing games for more than three hours/week

#90

Post by obmelvin »

tgv wrote: post #8

Anyone want to argue why this would be bad, apart from restricting freedom? BTW, nothing in the article about limits on TikTok or YouTube or whathaveyougot. That's as much opium as gaming, IMO.

An obvious difference between many modern games and video platforms are the micro-transactions, which I think do clearly put them in a different category.
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