Gameover

This Friday at 9pm, China will pull the plug on 110 million children. It's a tough new rule to limit online game use to three hours per week. The communist government will also cut the number of new games and make companies enforce the rules.

China says it must protect the mental and physical health of teenagers. State media and regulators call gaming a "spiritual opium" and "poison" that is creating "negative energy" and "incorrect values" in the country's children.

Many have criticised the decision. Irish psychiatrist Brendan Kelly says it is "illiberal and DraconianExtremely severe. Draco was a 7th-century BC legislator who drew up Athens's first written laws that imposed the death penalty, even for minor offences such as stealing a cabbage." and will not help children addicted to gaming. The Indian tech billionaire Nikhil Kamath tweeted that the restrictions are "dystopianRelating to an imagined society where there is great suffering or injustice. ".

But many will be jealous of these new powers, says policy expert Camilla Cavendish. Companies "invade our kids' bedrooms" with irresistible games and parents would love a "big brotherIn George Orwell's dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, Big Brother is the supreme ruler of the totalitarian empire of Oceania. It has since become a phrase that is in general use that people use to refer to threats of government surveillance." to force children to quit.

In the UK, half of all seven-year-olds play video games and by fifteen, children play online for more than ten hours per week. But is this a problem? The evidence is mixed.

In 2018, the World Health Organisation recognised excessive online gaming as an illness. Players are hooked on the hit of dopamine supplied by the constant flow of rewards built into the game. In China, some parents are so concerned about their children's addiction they send them to addiction boot camps.

Not everyone is convinced. Video-game psychologist Rachel Kowert says the dopamine hit is more like eating crisps than taking an illegal drug. Researcher Joanne Orlando points out that gaming addiction is not about time spent online, but "attitude and intensity".

In her research, the main reason children play is to "hang out with friends". It only becomes harmful, she argues, when they lose control and put gaming above their social, family and school life. This problem affects less than 1% of the population.

Game researcher Andrew James Reid says critics confuse addiction with motivation. Players of Fortnite are motivated by a sense of purpose. Schools, shops and workplaces use gamification to copy this winning formula with points, levels and rewards.

"There is a lot to really like about video games," says Sarah Coyne, author of a six-year study that found no harmful effects in 90% of users. Gaming can help teenagers release stress and develop social skills like empathy and teamwork.

And games may make us smarter. A 2013 study at the Max Planck Institute showed players of Super Mario 64 developed better spatial awareness, strategic planning and fine motor skills. Other studies link fast-paced action games with improved focus, attention and creativity.

Writing in the Financial Times, John Thornhill argues China's crackdown on gaming is the latest example of moral panicA widespread, often irrational fear over the future of a society's values, interests or security.. The older generation worries about the dangers of new technology and blames it for everything. Meanwhile, the young are excited to use it to shape their world.

Can video games be good for us?

Some say no, these games are not designed to make us better people. They exist to make money and to keep us playing at any cost. Our time is limited and the more we spend gaming, the less we live in the real world. And offline and outside is where we need to develop our mental and social skills.

Others say yes, games are not a distraction from life. They are life itself. The Dutch thinker Johan Huizinga argued that play is the most fundamental part of human culture. In making and playing games we explore new ideas, create friendships and learn the skills we will need for success in the future.