At this year’s National Two Sessions, some representatives suggested that the age of people controlled by online games should be appropriately extended.
Can the anti-addiction mechanism for college students become a growth booster?
Yangcheng Evening News reporter Sun Wei, intern Zhang Jiahui and Qiu Chenxi
At this year’s National Two Sessions, the news of “proposing to establish an anti-addiction system for college students” was on the hot search and aroused heated discussions among netizens. Chen Zhilie, a representative of the National People's Congress and chairman of the board of directors of EVOC High-tech Holdings Group, said that the current anti-addiction restrictions on games for underage netizens have achieved good results, and it is recommended to appropriately extend the age of those who control online games. , establish an anti-addiction mechanism for online games for college students.
Many college students expressed different opinions on this proposal. However, the phenomenon of Internet addiction among college students does not seem to be decreasing with growth. Should an anti-addiction system for college students be put on the agenda? A reporter from the Yangcheng Evening News conducted an investigation and interview.
Online games have become the “stagnation key” of college life
As early as 2010, the "Interim Measures for the Management of Online Games" was promulgated, and the anti-addiction system for games for minors was officially launched. Since then, with the continuous improvement of the system, the preventive measures of the game platform have also been continuously upgraded, and the effect of the anti-addiction system has gradually become apparent. The proposal of “establishing an anti-addiction system for college students” aims to achieve the effect of controlling the use of games by college students by including college students within the scope of management.
As the amount of time available increases, games seem to have penetrated the lives of college students unknowingly. According to the 53rd "Statistical Report on China's Internet Development Situation" by the China Internet Network Information Center, as of December 2023, the number of Internet users in my country has reached 1.092 billion, an increase of 24.8 million Internet users compared with December 2022, and the Internet penetration rate has reached 1.092 billion. 77.5%. Internet users under the age of 29 account for 32.2% of the total number of Internet users. According to a survey jointly released by the China Youth Research Center and the Institute of Sociology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, as of 2021, the prevalence of online game addiction among Chinese college students has exceeded 15%.
After accidentally trying a game, Xiaoyang fell into the game out of control, and the game became the stagnation key in her life. "I often plan that I will take online classes or do homework at a certain time, but I can't resist the temptation of gaming, and then I comfort myself by playing games for a while. In the end, I often play games for several hours, and the original study plan does not work. It didn’t go as planned.” Amu, a student from South China Agricultural University, lamented: “The game itself represents entertainment, and college students choose this form of entertainment because they can easily gain emotional value by simply opening the game. At the same time, as a As a commodity, compared to activities such as watching movies and traveling, playing games is the cheapest and most affordable option." Therefore, games often delay his study and life. Playing games all night will lead to him skipping classes to catch up on sleep the next day, blindly The recharge used up all the living expenses, and he spent the whole weekend playing games and delaying his homework... Now thinking about the time wasted on games, Amu felt very upset.
Should we implement an anti-addiction mechanism for college students online?
Is it necessary to implement an anti-addiction mechanism for college students on the Internet? The reporter's interview and survey found that college students have diverse views on whether to adopt an anti-addiction system for college students.
"This is a good measure, and I am willing to cooperate, but the effect may not be significant when implemented." Zheng, a student from the School of Chinese Language and Culture of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, believes that "this system is the most direct way to control college students' game addiction and prevent them from becoming addicted." The method - forced offline can effectively help some students who realize that games are addictive and unable to control themselves to reduce their gaming time, gradually develop good work and rest habits, and ultimately reduce the temptation of online games. When they want to continue playing after being forced offline, The cost of gaming will increase, which may constrain some students to give up gaming, thus achieving the goal. But for some students with poor self-control, there are still many ways to bypass the regulatory system and find ways to continue gaming."
However, the opposition is in the majority. "This is an unnecessary measure, and I am completely unwilling to cooperate." Xiao Ran, an environmental engineering major from Zhejiang University of Technology, said, "The anti-addiction mechanism of games is to help and control underage children with unsound minds, and college students, as Adults have the right to make their own choices and should bear the consequences of their choices." She explained to reporters using herself as an example, "I usually play some games to relax and relieve some of the academic pressure in reality, but basically I don't Being attracted by the game, I can control and plan my game time independently. When tasks must be completed or pressure forces me to do so, I will make timely adjustments. If I want to arrange a 'game indulgence day' for myself, but I am controlled by the system, I will It made me feel extremely disgusted.”
Amu also believes: "Currently, college students are very dissatisfied with this system, and the reaction of netizens just shows that its necessity needs to be discussed in depth. This shows that it is even more necessary to get into the hearts of college students and understand their real needs and feedback. Instead of proposing an untargeted system based on parents’ critical and negative mindset and prejudice against games.”
It is more important to cultivate college students’ self-management ability
In today's society, college students are under increasing pressure and competition is becoming more and more fierce. Many students choose to hide in games to find a "safe haven" in order to escape the pressure of reality. Games can be a form of entertainment and an outlet for catharsis. Some students use games to release some of their depression and better solve real-life problems. However, there are also many cases of putting the cart before the horse and being overly addicted.
In this regard, Chu Zhaohui, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Educational Sciences, said that the main source of college students’ Internet addiction problem is themselves. He pointed out that this problem can often be traced back to the primary and secondary school stages of college students, when they failed to develop good autonomy and self-discipline, and this lack is the crux of the problem. Chu Zhaohui further explained that in their previous lives, because schools and families arranged their study and life too tightly, many college students lost the ability to arrange time, space and content independently. This passive lifestyle makes it difficult for them to exercise self-discipline when facing a relatively relaxed environment after entering college, and they are unable to clearly set and pursue personal goals.
Chu Zhaohui believes that college students' addiction to online games is inextricably linked to their personality initiative. "If a student has an active personality, then he can realize that online games and even the Internet are just tools for understanding the world, and he always has the initiative, so he will not be addicted to it. On the contrary, students with a passive personality lack independent control. The power will be easily dominated by the Internet. In fact, the passive personality problem of many students is very typical, which is very difficult to solve. Simply relying on external mechanisms to restrain it will only be stretched and cannot be eradicated. I think we need to start from Internally cultivate the personality and autonomy of college students, and always maintain a sense of autonomy." Chu Zhaohui believes.
Therefore, Chu Zhaohui said that to solve this problem, we need to return to the essence. He emphasized that as adults, college students should have the ability to self-manage and control. It may be more effective to restrain college students from this perspective. At the same time, when relevant departments deal with the problem of Internet addiction among college students, they should also manage them as adults, rather than simply treating them as minors.
Some education experts believe that one of the main reasons why college students are addicted to online games is their lack of autonomy. Before entering college, students' study and life are planned and managed by their parents and teachers. After entering college, their time and energy are at their own disposal. Second, the university does not manage students well enough. Many universities do not have strict requirements for students, causing some students who do not have their own plans and goals to lower their self-requirements.
"Higher education should focus on the process management of students, improve the standards and requirements for each course, and enrich students' college life. For individual students, self-management ability is more important for the future society." experts say.
(Yangcheng Evening News)