Chinese officials look to limit social media and screen time in China

According to the 2024 China Game Industry Minor Protection Report, as of December 2023, the number of internet users in China under the age of 18 reached 196 million. (VOA photo)
While some youth in China admit to spending an excessive
amount of time on the internet, many are skeptical about new government
proposals aimed at regulating the time young Chinese spend online and on social
media sites.
In conversations at China’s annual political meetings that
wrapped up in Beijing this week, retired international basketball star Yao
Ming, called for some limits on internet access for young people in China.
Yao was advocating for a plan that would mandate children
turn off all electronics for one full day every academic semester and get
outside and exercise.
Officials also called for tighter controls of online gaming
and cited concerns about harmful online content, warning that excessive
internet use is hurting the physical health and academic performance of Chinese
minors under the age of 18.
China already has some of the world’s tightest internet
controls, with tens of thousands of websites, foreign social media sites and
content blocked. It also has a massive online population.
On social media in China some commenters praised the
efforts, but many expressed frustrations with what they viewed to be an
inherent contradiction within the policies. Some noted that children are
already in school most of the day and rely on internet resources to complete
assignments.
“Schools should assign less homework that requires phone
check-ins and online research,” wrote one user from northern Hebei Province.
“Minors get home around 9 p.m. or 10 p.m. at night, so when
do they even have time to use social media?” wrote another user from Beijing.
A college student in Beijing, who spoke with VOA on condition
of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the topic, said she agreed with
officials’ concerns, but added that policies like the one suggested by Yao are
likely to have a limited impact.
“Chinese teenagers and young people are absolutely addicted
to the internet. You can find people walking on the streets looking at their
phones everywhere and all the time. We use the internet to do almost
everything,” the student told VOA.
“I don’t really think proposals to limit internet
accessibility for young people would be effective. The addiction is always hard
to get rid of, so how can a ‘limit day’ alleviate the excessive internet use?”
the student said, using the word “addiction” to describe the excessive use of
the internet.
According to the "2024 China Game Industry Minor
Protection Report" released by the Game Working Committee of the China
Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association, as of December 2023, the number
of internet users in China under the age of 18 reached 196 million, with the
percentage of minors who are on the internet and can access it reaching 97.3%.
During Chinese New Year this year, Tencent Games issued a
"limited play order" for minors. During the 32-day break from academics,
teenagers were only permitted to play the company’s games for a total of 15
hours.
However, all of these regulations can be circumvented
through using or creating accounts belonging to adults, who are not subject to
the restrictions.
Despite previous momentum, A Qiang, who used to work in the
Chinese media industry, thinks proposals from the recently concluded political
meetings in Beijing are just talk and won’t lead to any concrete policy change.
The real way forward, he argues, is by lessening burdens
impacting the quality of minors’ lives offline such as intense academic
pressure.
The problem is not that they have too much freedom online
but have too little freedom offline, he said.
Will Wang, a Chinese student attending college in the United
States, said when he returns home in Beijing during school break his impression
is that the internet is used heavily in everyday life, and that teenagers are
very active on social media platforms.
“There’s definitely a significant increase in screen and
internet usage across all ages in China…many Chinese teenagers are deeply
engaged with TikTok, RedNote, Bilibili, and many internet platforms,” Wang said
in a written response to VOA.
Amid the busy academic and personal lives of young Chinese, the
internet provides them with a rare space for privacy, which Wang said is
fueling high levels of internet use.
“Most Chinese teenagers don’t have a lot of private space
for themselves at home or at school so [the] internet is the only option,
especially with their busy schedules––nearly every kid has to attend some sort
of classes or studying-related activities outside of school,” Wang said.
“For teenagers, if anything, [the] internet makes them more
connected with their friends and the world.”
Xu Quan, a media commentator based in Hong Kong, said online
spaces can have a positive effect on children, who are often overwhelmed with
parental and educational expectations.
"Contrary to what some might think, the internet helps
them deal with stress to a certain extent. If you were to remove the internet
from their lives, that would actually be harmful to their physical and mental
well-being," Xu told VOA.
The recent proposals to limit internet use build on previous
regulations regarding youth internet use. In October 2020, China revised the
“Law on the Protection of Minors,” adding an “internet protection” chapter
requiring that social media, gaming and live streaming platforms implement
tools to limit their excessive use. The law targeted gaming addictions in
particular.
A 2021 notice required strict limits on gaming time
allotments for children under 18. The regulation banned gaming between the
hours of 10 p.m. and 8 a.m., and limited minors to no more than one hour of
gaming per day on weekdays or two hours per day on weekends.
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