Trendspotting: China Curbs Youth Gaming

NewsWire: 9/8/21

• Chinese youth are now banned from playing online video games from Monday to Thursday. Along with other recently instituted limits, this law indicates that the CCP is stepping up its efforts to shape the next generation. (The Wall Street Journal)
• NH: The CCP just announced it will limit youth gaming in China. Persons under 18 will be banned from playing online video games Monday through Thursday. And on the other days of the week, youths will only be allowed to play for one hour a day.  
• The government has justified the move in the name of public health and patriotism. It claims that video games physically weaken young men and lead to mental-health issues. According to the CCP, limiting gaming “touches upon the nurturing of a new generation of men for the rejuvenation of the nation.”
• This may be a big blow to China's top gaming firms, many of which are global leaders in their industry. According to Niko Partners, a market research firm, there are 720M gamers in China. iResearch estimates China’s esports market revenue hit $23B in 2020. China is home to a large share of the best young esports competitors in the world. The move was long expected. Last month, a state-owned Chinese newspaper blasted online gaming as "opium for the mind"--a severe accusation for Chinese readers. Tencent share prices briefly fell.
• The global response, for the most part, has been shoulder shrugging. Most observers doubt that the CCP will have much success in reining in the obsessions of youth. Yet several cultural conservatives in the west have applauded the move, and even the Economist conceded that many parents secretly wish they had that kind of help with their own kids.
• IMO, the government could achieve better results with less resistance by framing the ban differently. Instead of issuing an across-the-board ban and stigmatizing the industry, it could have encouraged gaming conditionally for youth who are doing well in school and who agree to game within CCP-approved venues. For better or worse, today's youth will be spending much of their future lives interacting with the world--as consumers, workers, soldiers,  or creators--through gamified interfaces. We don't want them to shun it. We want them to be good at it and improve it.
• Ironically, local governments in China are already doing this. For example, in 2018, the Chinese city of Hangzhou opened an “esports town,” which hosts major esports competitions and sponsors Chinese teams. The CCP could easily adopt similar programs at the national level. That way, the country's worldwide esports dominance could become a source of national pride. And the CCP could reach hundreds of millions of young citizens.
• A helpful note to any public-sector bureaucrat--or parent. Sublimation always works better than repression.