It was already 8:30 in the morning. Lin Tao, a 14-year-old schoolboy, still didn't show up at school. He was often late for school! The teacher called his father and got to know he played computer games online late the night before and couldn't get up that morning. In fact, he had played online games since the age of 11. He almost dropped out of school last year.
Lin Tao is not alone. Information from China Internet Center shows that the number of teenage Internet user in China had been about 170 million by the end of December, 2017. Many of them, like Lin Tao, spend too much time playing computer games online.
To deal with this problem, the Chinese government worked out a draft regulation(法规草案)in January this year. According to the regulation, players need to use their own ID cards to play online games. Game companies will control teenagers' online game time. They will not be able to play online games between 12:00 at night and 8:00 in the morning. If they are still playing during the time, the game companies will lock them out.
Many people think that the regulation can surely better protect Chinese young game players online, while others doubt whether it can successfully stop them from playing games too much. "More and more people come to know that playing online games too much not only brings teenagers healthy and study problems, but also makes them depressed(沮丧的)and lonely," Tong Xiaojun, director from a university, told CCTV. "We need support from the whole society to solve the problem."
