Clear your schedule from 8pm-9pm on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights! Well, maybe only if you are a child in China that loves playing video games. The latest part of China's youth behavior crackdown has limited the amount of time people under the age of 18 can spend playing video games. This may seem ridiculous and not something the government should control, but as an authoritarian state the Chinese government is afforded that power.
China has been known for it's strong, powerful government and at times, the obscure rules and laws they enforce. Perhaps most famously was the one child policy that had been in place from the 1970s until the mid 2010s. At the beginning of September it was announced that children (those under 18 years old) will only be allowed to play video games for three hours every week. This is the government's effort to limit the negative effects video games have on children.
Young video game players
For some this may seem like the government overreaching and abusing their authority, but many in the country believe this video game ban is the government looking out for their well-being. This is an argument used in favor of a totalitarian state which can regulate how their citizens behave. In a free society, people can willing act in a manner that is not good for them. The power of the state can be used for protecting the people, but how far should the government go to "protect" them?
In many countries people are guaranteed basic freedoms. The government only limits those freedoms if they believe it is for the good of the people. While many agree that video games have some harmful effects (especially overly violent ones), not as many would say the government should monitor children's usage. In fact, many studies throughout the pandemic have even offered that video games are helpful during times of isolation. Nonetheless, the Chinese government believes it is serious enough of a problem that it may lead to an addiction. This belief inspired the new video game restrictions.
Chinese government leaders
While parents around the world envy the Chinese governments ability to limit screen time, they overlook the other actions taken that are less understandable. The government has been able to make "misbehaving celebrities" seemingly disappear. A tax evasion scandal led to actress Zheng Shuang's works being removed from the internet basically overnight. The government is trying to get rid of the worship culture that some celebrities generate. They want the state and the love of their country to be the only thing their citizens worship. Social media fan clubs for celebrities have been taken down as a part of this crackdown. Other celebrities have been taken down for being too "effeminate" as a man or having "incorrect" political views.
Actress, Zheng Shuang
Both the video game ban and the pop culture crackdown exemplify how an authoritarian state can do whatever they believe is best for their people even if it makes taking away basic freedoms. The video game crackdown overshadows the harsher, and less reasonable actions taken by this government. This serves as a reminder that the political systems in place in different countries yield vastly different lifestyles.
Sources
https://supchina.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Zheng-Shuang-career-scaled.jpg
https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/30/china/china-entertainment-crackdown-mic-intl-hnk/index.html
Images
https://c8.alamy.com/comp/W7DG5A/young-chinese-players-play-the-online-video-game-playerunknowns-battlegrounds-during-an-electronic-sports-competition-in-yantai-city-east-chinas-W7DG5A.jpg
https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/china_plenary002.jpg
https://supchina.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Zheng-Shuang-career-scaled.jpg
1 comment:
As a person who plays video games, I would have hated this restriction on video games. However, I can understand the reasoning for why they would want to restrict the time played. Playing video games does take up a lot of time that can be used more productively. However, I do question the pop culture crackdown. I wonder if the next step is to just ban video games and pop culture all together in China.
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