The Morning After: China slashes kids’ gaming time to three hours a week,

by Shivendra Singh · August 31, 2021

For anyone struggling to tear kids away from consoles and phones for dinner, homework and, well, real life, spare a thought for the Chinese youth. China has announced a further crackdown on the time children can play online games, with the new limit set to just three hours per week. Platforms like Tencent can now only offer gaming to kids between 8pm and 9pm on Friday, weekends and public holidays.

Earlier this month, Tencent was forced to cut the time minors could play its hit mobile game Honor of Kings to just an hour on weeknights and two hours on the weekend.

Further strengthening of the rules won’t come as a surprise. Earlier last month, state-owned news outlets published an editorial calling video games “spiritual opium,” outlining all the negative ways gaming could affect China’s youth.

I can already imagine parents telling their kids about the tough gaming rules in China, and how they should count their blessings. I can also imagine most kids ignoring them.

— Mat Smith