Video Game Addictions and Big Brother

Since video games were introduced the government has noticed the harmful effects they have on a nations youth and have tried to manage their availability. Since the original arcade games government have called for restrictions. The British government on 1981 almost passed a bill to ban space invaders and other video games because of their addictive properties. Mr. George Foulks, the member of parliament who brought the almost law into effect stated "I have seen reports from all over the country of young people becoming so addicted to these machines that they resort to theft, blackmail and vice to obtain money to satisfy their addiction"(Control of Space Invaders and Other Electronic Games n.d.). This bill was barely overturned by 114 to 94 vote, but that was just the beginning. 

In 2005 the Chinese introduced a law that limited gamers to 3 hours of online gaming. They claimed, "to be introducing the controls to deter people from playing for longer than three consecutive hours."(China imposes online gaming curbs 2005) However gamers found a way to get around theses restrictions. In 2006 the government made a revision to the system. Currently users have "to enter their ID card numbers. After three hours, players under 18 are prompted to stop and 'do suitable physical exercise.' If they continue, the software slashes by half any points earned in the game. All points are wiped out if players stay on more than five hours" (China Limits Teenage Internet Gaming n.d.). This is an extreme measure, but they have a large portion of the population who is at risk of addiction. 

In North America there has been no bills or laws been put in the works to compare this growing problem. However in the United States, the Federal Communications Commission has strong opinion on the harmful effects of gaming addiction. Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate was quoted in December of 2008 saying, “one of the top reasons for collage drop-outs in the U.S. is online gaming addiction”(Taylor Tate 2008). It seems irrational to think that the government can recognize video game addiction as the major reason for collage drop-outs, yet they have done nothing to monitor it.

Citations

Control of Space Invaders and Other Electronic Games. (n.d.). Retrieved February 21, 2016, from http://hansard.millbanksystems.com/commons/1981/may/20/control-of-space-invaders-and-other

China imposes online gaming curbs (2005). Retrieved February 21, 2016, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4183340.stm

China Limits Teenage Internet Gaming. (n.d.). Retrieved February 21, 2016, from http://www.3-rx.com/ab/more/china-limits-teenage-internet-gaming/

Taylor Tate, D. (2008, December 5). STATEMENT OF COMMISSIONER DEBORAH TAYLOR TATE AT PRACTICING LAW INSTITUTE ON TELECOM POLICY AND REGULATION DECEMBER 5, 2008. Retrieved February 21, 2016, from https://apps.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/DOC-287221A1.pdf