Video games play a huge part in teenagers’ and kids’ lives. On Aug. 21 China made a new law for kids and teens under the age of 18 from playing video games during the week. On the weekends, kids are limited to just three hours, limited to just playing games from 8:00 -9:p.m.

This change is bigger than what the limit on video games used to be. On weekdays, they could play 90 minutes a day, and on the weekends they could have three hours of video game time. Even before that Chinese technology and entertainment companies were down, but now that the new law is in place, it is at a record low and slumped 3.4%. This is a reason why I don’t think this ban should be a thing; it’s affecting other people too besides the kids.

This has really hurt young Chinese gamers and people who play video games. Some parents are actually happy that the government implemented this rule and think that it will help their kids in the long run. Parents say that it is the Chinese government trying to take care of the kids and focus on school work more. So they don’t  have the need to be playing video games all the time. A reason for the ban is that China actually has the most hours of video game play time in the world. I think that the ban could help the kids if they were on the games too much, but if they weren’t on them that much then I don’t think it would make a difference. It would work because they could focus more on their school work, and themselves besides playing video games.

There are some bad things and good things that come from video games such as. There are games that include very gruesome bloody imagery that is violent. Some games include: Call Of Duty, Red Dead Redemption, Grand Theft Auto and more. The unfortunate thing about it is there are kids anywhere from 8-15 years old  playing these games. They  put those bad images in their head that they do not need to see at such a young age. Kids will stay in their room all day and rot in front of the T.V. playing video games, and it is just killing their brain.

A recent survey of parents in the U.S. showed that 64% said their children’s online communication and game play this past summer led to stronger friendship ties. When kids would be in a dark place they would rely on playing video games with their friends or by themselves to cheer them up and use it as a way to take their mind off of things. When I play video games with my friends I instantly get happy and have a great time with them. So for the people in China they don’t get the feeling of getting happy instantly from video games.

There has been a lot of research done on the effects of video games. A study of Chinese teens published earlier this year showed that  those using the internet, social media or video games for entertainment four or more hours daily were four times more likely to skip school. School is very important so for them to be skipping it all because of an electronic is ridiculous.

The ban on video games in China has affected a lot more than just the kids in China. It has affected a lot of gaming companies. They will not be making the same amount of money in China due to the ban so that affects them also. This ban just hurts a lot of people and I think that it is very unnecessary.

Gaming is a way for children to make new friends and really just have fun in their free time when they aren’t busy.  I  think they should be able to play more than just on the weekends. Even though there are some bad things about it,  kids should be kids and part of that is playing video games with their friends.