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Gaming, which was originally a paradise for relaxation and entertainment, can also become a "trap" for teenagers. Recently, a social shock around "minors' game addiction" is being staged across the country, which has aroused widespread attention and heated discussions from all walks of life.
Let's start with a case that triggered this incident: in April 2023, a 15-year-old teenager, Xiao Hao, hurt his parents in anger because of a heated argument with his parents over the issue of too long a game time. The police investigation found that the child was immersed in online games except for a few hours of online classes, and the whole family was in a mess.
After this incident was exposed by the media, the whole country fell into a heated discussion on the issue of "minors' game addiction". This is just a microcosm of the plight faced by thousands of families, and a new social issue is emerging before our eyes.
In the age of the Internet, games have undoubtedly become a popular "new drug" among teenagers. Some shoddy and vulgar games, exaggerated violent and pornographic plots, are worrying. There are also "online game traps" under the manipulation of capital that are carefully designed to induce players to become addicted to it. Countless parents have fallen into it and are troubled.
On the one hand, there are voices calling for the government to introduce strict control measures and impose restrictions on game companies; On the other hand, there are concerns that excessive regulation will affect the development of the industry and hinder the rights and interests of young people. The two points of view are tense on the Internet, and between the open guns and the hidden arrows, it has turned into a "war of words".
In the midst of this storm of public opinion, the controversial chairman of the board of directors of Tencent, Ma Huateng, expressed new views in a public occasion, which once again sparked a greater discussion.
Ma Huateng bluntly said that games are beneficial to teenagers, and moderate games are conducive to exercising brain development, cultivating comprehensive abilities such as innovative thinking and teamwork. It is promised that Tencent will increase its efforts to control the game time of underage users, establish a stricter anti-addiction system, and vigorously develop educational and interesting healthy game content.
Ma also encouraged parents to take the initiative to join the game, share the fun of the game with their children, and cultivate a good parent-child relationship, rather than banning the game altogether. He believes that parents and children playing together can promote interaction and communication between the two sides on the one hand, and on the other hand, it is also conducive to parents grasping the game time and guiding children to form a healthy concept of entertainment.
This idea of "companionship" play has won the "resonance" of some parents. They believe that under the premise of proper control of time, games can indeed become a new choice for parent-child activities, which is conducive to shortening the distance between each other. Through play, parents can also better understand their children's interests and hobbies and pass on the right values.
But criticism is also heard. Skeptics pointed out that there is an embarrassing situation of "two-faced people" in game companies: while flaunting social responsibility, they secretly set up a "krypton gold" mechanism in different tricks to induce minors to indulge in games and recharge wildly. Parents believe that Ma Huateng's statement is just a "stopgap measure" for the game industry to protect itself, and the industry as a whole generally lacks integrity.
In real life, many parents also have doubts about Ma Huateng's "game is beneficial theory". They worry that gaming can have a serious impact on their children's vision, learning, social interaction and even physical and mental health. The attitude of many parents is still to strictly restrict or even prohibit their children's addiction to gaming.
Just when public opinion was boiling, more live stories surfaced: a well-known live broadcast platform was reported to be suspected of vulgar pornographic content; A mobile game company was accused of using the "big pot rice" model, which confused the game content and made it difficult to distinguish the authenticity; Another game company has been accused of "slaughtering" minors and greedily squeezing money... Layers of exposure are shocking.
In the face of the unprecedented increase in public attention, the regulatory authorities quickly took action to organize special rectification of the game industry: "Bright Sword" severely punished violating companies, comprehensively investigated, suspended licenses, and imposed heavy fines... A series of "heavy punches" have fallen, which has brought a huge impact to the game industry. Many local governments have also followed up with local implementation plans to curb the spread of "minors' gaming addiction" in the local area.
It is worth noting that this issue has also attracted great attention from the education community. Many schools have taken the lead and increased control over students' after-school time, taking strict measures: some schools directly prohibit teachers and students from playing games on campus; Some schools regularly organize experts to carry out game counseling lectures; There are also schools that actively encourage students to participate in extracurricular activities such as sports and develop healthy hobbies... Many innovative efforts are contributing to the containment of the crisis.
There is a limit to the power of schools to go it alone. The root of game addiction lies in the deviation of minors' values and the lack of self-control. A truly effective method should not stop at simple control, but should require the whole society to work together and families, schools, enterprises, and the government to guide young people in an all-round way to establish a correct outlook on life and values, improve their ability to exercise self-restraint, and create a healthy and upward environment for them to grow up.
Returning to Ma Huateng's statement, although he elaborated on some of the positive aspects of the game, most parents still have doubts about it. They believe that most of the existing games lack positive educational significance, and there are too many negative contents such as violence and vulgarity, which is not conducive to the healthy growth of young people. In this regard, companies in the industry said that they will increase the supervision of game content, optimize and innovate game models, and create more healthy and beneficial game products for minors.
What makes parents even more disgusted is the "circle money" marketing strategy of some game companies. More and more games have uncontrolled charging points, constantly refreshing the upper limit of "krypton", bringing a heavy financial burden to families. Some parents lament that their children's spending on games is far beyond their families' reasonable affordability.
In addition, the long-term lack of exercise in the game may also bring hidden dangers to the physical health of adolescents. Staring at electronic screens for a long time can easily lead to uncomfortable symptoms such as vision loss, dry eyes, and eye fatigue. In severe cases, it may cause retinopathy, glaucoma and other eye diseases, endangering the health of both eyes. Many ophthalmologists warn that adolescence is a critical period for eye development, and if you become addicted to games, it will cause serious vision damage that is difficult to reverse.
The worries of parents, the criticism of public opinion, the self-reflection of the industry, and the severe punishment of the regulatory authorities, this discussion is still going on and is far from subsided. We need the joint attention of all sectors of society, and the cooperation of families, schools, enterprises and governments to create a good environment for the healthy growth of young people.
Ma Huateng's "parent-accompanied" game viewpoint is the core idea of which is worthy of our in-depth consideration. The game itself is not an absolute "drug", the key is how to correctly control the time and way of playing. Through the active participation of parents and scientific guidance, games can also become a good opportunity for parent-child interaction and intellectual development.
For example, some strategy games such as Go and chess can exercise children's logical thinking and judgment and decision-making skills; Some sand table reasoning games are beneficial to the cultivation of spatial thinking and hands-on ability; There are also games that stimulate creativity and guide programming thinking, which are beneficial for children's brain development.
Game companies keep pace with the times, take the initiative to assume social responsibility, and develop in a healthy and positive direction in game design concepts and content, rather than pursuing simple "thrills" and "profiteering accumulation". At the same time, parents should also learn to grasp scientifically, and guide and manage their children appropriately in terms of time and content, rather than simply prohibiting or letting them go.
Only through the joint efforts of all parties can the game industry develop healthily within a reasonable and orderly scope, provide more educational game experiences for young people, and make games truly become "nutritious products" for enlightenment and intelligence, rather than "drugs" that hurt the body and heart.
It is necessary for the government to introduce relevant regulations to set a framework for the healthy development of the game industry; It is necessary for game companies to be self-disciplined and self-reflective, and to put social responsibility at the forefront; It is necessary for schools to play a leading role in education to help parents and children establish correct cognition; It is also necessary for families to actively participate and take the initiative to adopt scientific parenting methods. Only by working together can we truly make young games grow healthily under the sun.
This discussion is far from over, but we have reason to believe that after this extensive and in-depth collision of thoughts, we will find a bright future path. The healthy growth of minors is something that everyone attaches importance to and expects. Let us work together and make unremitting efforts to resolve this social problem and let the sun shine on every child's heart.
Write to the end:
For the sake of the health and future of minors, we must actively speak up for them;
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