Why do you think China stops online gaming?

What is bad/unhealthy about online gaming?

 The government of China is imposing a curfew on online gaming for young people.

Gamers under 18 will be banned from playing online between 10 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. They will only be allowed to play for 90 minutes on weekdays.  And they can only play for 2 hours on weekends and holidays.

This is because the Chinese government wants to curb video game addiction. The government says it is dangerous to people’s health.

There will also be spending limits.

Gamers 8 to 16 years old can spend up to 200 yuan ($29) per month. Those 16 and 18 years can spend up to 400 yuan ($57).

China has said many times that gaming is hurting young minds.

In 2018, China stopped new video games being made. This was for 9 months. It hurt the gaming industry significantly.

Before this change, some gaming companies made an age verification process. But it was too little too late.

Tencent – the world’s largest gaming company – limited time to one hour per day for users under 12 and to two hours per day for users between 12 and 18. They also made users prove their age and identity by using government identity.

Some countries have said that too much gaming as a major health problem. Many have private addiction centers to help gaming addicts.

Try to guess the meaning of the words in bold and match them with their closest meaning from the choices in the right. Some of the answers are very close and have similar meaning. The meaning of these words is how they are used in the reading. Some of these words have different meanings in the dictionary depending on how they are used.

 The answers are below the table.

A=8, B=1, C=5, D=7, E=3, F=6, G=2, H=4

Some example sentences using the new words or phrases from the meaning of how they are used in the reading to help you understand better.

1. He is imposing his ideas on other people.

2. The soldiers have a curfew between 10pm and 6am.

3. Fishing is banned from this river because it is dangerous.

4. If you want to lose weight you need to curb your eating.

5. He is addicted to gambling? He goes to the casino anytime he has money.

6. The winter this year is significantly colder than last year.

7. Before I will see you alcohol you need to verify you are 19. Please show me your ID card.

8. He stayed up all night studying, but it was too little too late. He had not studied all semester.

    

    

Some questions using the new words/phrases. Try to use the words/phrases in your answer.

1. Do you agree with the Chinese government imposing these rules on gamers? Why or why not?

2. Was a similar gaming curfew successful in Korea? In Korea, gamers had to verify their age to play online games. Was this successful?

3. Do you think it is enough to ban something to make people change their actions? What more actions can a government take to curb things like smoking and gaming?

4. What kinds of people become addicted easily?

5. How significant is the gaming industry in your country?

6. Give an example when you might say ‘too little too late.”