Video games are a mass phenomenon.

During the pandemic in particular, games for computers, game consoles and mobile phones became more and more popular among the general public.

The number of people who gamble has grown by a good four million in Germany since the beginning of the Corona lockdown.

Overall, 58 percent of Germans, around 48 million people, now use video games.

But even before Corona, the global video game market was already larger than the markets for music and movies put together.

All age groups play: Most of the “gamers” in Germany are actually between 50 and 59 years old. The triumphant advance of games on the smartphone has contributed to this - since the chips in cell phones have been able to transport graphics that are as sophisticated as computers, numerous middle-aged women and men have been lying on the sofa in the evenings with cell phones or tablets, playing games.

However, when you highlight the importance of video games in the entertainment industry, eyebrows often go up in conversation.

Because video games have an image problem: especially for parents who did not grow up with them, video games often still fall under inferior entertainment.

At a loss, they see the hours their children spend on the computer and think of addiction potential and, in the worst case, of excesses of violence supposedly triggered by video games.

An unholy alliance

If this lack of understanding is politically exploited, as is now happening in China, an unholy alliance is formed: the government publicly pillories video game companies out of pure power interests and applauds parents who don't know any better. Two weeks ago, Beijing accused game publishers through a pro-government medium of distributing “spiritual opium” and “electronic drugs”.

The text culminated in the statement, "No industry should benefit from wiping out an entire generation".

Tencent, the country's largest video game company with annual sales of $ 75 billion, then limited the time young people could use the company's online games to one hour on weekdays and two hours on weekends.

The company also announced that it considered a complete ban on video games for all children under the age of twelve in the industry.

Since then, there has been great resentment among China's young players, as the summer holidays were not exempted from the time limits.

On the other hand, some parents find words of praise: "If children play video games too much, it is bad for their eyes," a Beijing mother was quoted as saying.

The strategy of China's government is transparent: under the leadership of Xi Jinping, it has been trying since last fall to use tough regulations to subordinate Chinese tech companies in particular to the party's goals.

The crackdown on the video game companies is now the latest volte targeting public opinion.

And on possible eye damage: that people often stare at a screen for eight hours a day at work has long been a reality in many places.

Playing is allowed

The idea of ​​time limits for video games among young people may also find approval among parents in this country - even if only within the family and not prescribed by the state.

But it is not a sustainable strategy.

It makes a lot more sense to deal with what the youngsters are playing and, if you are interested, to be happy to play along.

When it comes to relatives, children usually prefer the uncle who is interested in video games.

Of course, there are certainly more instructive activities than shooting around in "Fortnite".

But this is not about shooting itself, but about the idea of ​​competition - the term e-sports is no coincidence.

There is also an almost immeasurable variety of video games: in the action game "Assassin's Creed", for example, you can learn a lot about the life of bygone cultures.

Above all, it is important to talk about games - and not stop at the lack of understanding between the generations.