South Korean kids face game curfew
April 14, 2010 4:26 AM Subscribe
South Korean children face gaming curfew South Korea is realizing that having a large minority of their kids play video games at all times hurts social skills and can harm economic output. So the government is implementing curfews on when children can and cannot play online.
This post was deleted for the following reason: A few paragraphs of newswire feed is pretty thin for a post. -- cortex
The policy provides a way for parents to supervise their children's game playing," Lee Young-ah from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism told Reuters.
And who's gonna supervise the parents?
posted by gman at 4:41 AM on April 14, 2010
And who's gonna supervise the parents?
posted by gman at 4:41 AM on April 14, 2010
The first involves barring online gaming access to young people of school age between 12am (midnight) and 8am.
The other policy suggests slowing down people's internet connections after they have been logged on to certain games for a long period of time.
When I was a kid, my parents turned the TV off after 10PM.
posted by three blind mice at 4:41 AM on April 14, 2010
The other policy suggests slowing down people's internet connections after they have been logged on to certain games for a long period of time.
When I was a kid, my parents turned the TV off after 10PM.
posted by three blind mice at 4:41 AM on April 14, 2010
yeah, well, many kids aren't even home from their final hagwon at 10pm.
posted by gman at 4:50 AM on April 14, 2010
posted by gman at 4:50 AM on April 14, 2010
South Korea is realizingimagining that having a large minority of their kids play video games at all times hurts social skills...
posted by DU at 4:58 AM on April 14, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by DU at 4:58 AM on April 14, 2010 [2 favorites]
I'm sure this problem does not arise in North Korea, where only Kim Jong Il is allowed to even own a video game.
This degree of state control of the private lives if its citizens really seems ridiculous. It does remind me to some extent of the War on Drugs. These drugs are not good for you so we won't let you use them. Playing video games to excess is not good for you so we will establish a video curfew. What else should governments control? Obviously it is not good for people to be overweight. I am just waiting for the time when all overweight people will be rounded up by the police and sent to compulsory weight-loss camps. I think that a reasonable argument could be develped for the prohibition of body piercing, a recent fad that has gotten out of control. Or perhaps, like video games, body piercing is OK if done to moderation (or if done only by Kim Jong Il). I'm sure we can think of lots more details of people's personal lives that the government can take over.
posted by grizzled at 5:09 AM on April 14, 2010
This degree of state control of the private lives if its citizens really seems ridiculous. It does remind me to some extent of the War on Drugs. These drugs are not good for you so we won't let you use them. Playing video games to excess is not good for you so we will establish a video curfew. What else should governments control? Obviously it is not good for people to be overweight. I am just waiting for the time when all overweight people will be rounded up by the police and sent to compulsory weight-loss camps. I think that a reasonable argument could be develped for the prohibition of body piercing, a recent fad that has gotten out of control. Or perhaps, like video games, body piercing is OK if done to moderation (or if done only by Kim Jong Il). I'm sure we can think of lots more details of people's personal lives that the government can take over.
posted by grizzled at 5:09 AM on April 14, 2010
Game over, man! It's game over!
posted by davemee at 5:13 AM on April 14, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by davemee at 5:13 AM on April 14, 2010 [1 favorite]
Maybe I'm harbouring unconcious facist tendencies, but this doesn't sound like such a bad idea to me.
posted by orange swan at 5:19 AM on April 14, 2010
posted by orange swan at 5:19 AM on April 14, 2010
My first thought was that Korean kids, just like American kids, know more about computers than their parents and will get around this no problem. Second, a lot of gaming is done in PC-bang, or by-the-hour PC-rental rooms. They operate on a tight margin, and there's no way they'll start turning people away.
So basically, if the kid is desperate enough he'll hack his way in or just go down the street to the local PC-bang. And I'm sure the Korean authorities will do what they do best -- crack down on a few PC-bang and take lots of pictures to show how tough they are, then promptly let it all slide as they do with prostitution.
Either way, Blizzard's got nothing to worry about.
A lot of this feels misdirected anyways. A teenage kid addicted to video games? That's pretty darn nerdy but also natural. It's the 20 and 30-somethings that the government should be more worried about, and an abysmal job market doesn't help.
posted by bardic at 5:34 AM on April 14, 2010
So basically, if the kid is desperate enough he'll hack his way in or just go down the street to the local PC-bang. And I'm sure the Korean authorities will do what they do best -- crack down on a few PC-bang and take lots of pictures to show how tough they are, then promptly let it all slide as they do with prostitution.
Either way, Blizzard's got nothing to worry about.
A lot of this feels misdirected anyways. A teenage kid addicted to video games? That's pretty darn nerdy but also natural. It's the 20 and 30-somethings that the government should be more worried about, and an abysmal job market doesn't help.
posted by bardic at 5:34 AM on April 14, 2010
It's the 20 and 30-somethings that the government should be more worried about
Indeed they are. From the article:
"A couple whose baby daughter starved while they spent up to 12 hours a day in internet cafes raising a virtual child online have made headlines around the world."
posted by IndigoJones at 6:12 AM on April 14, 2010
Indeed they are. From the article:
"A couple whose baby daughter starved while they spent up to 12 hours a day in internet cafes raising a virtual child online have made headlines around the world."
posted by IndigoJones at 6:12 AM on April 14, 2010
I'm pretty sure that Starcraft is a training simulator for the future operators of South Korea's secret robot army.
posted by borkencode at 6:25 AM on April 14, 2010
posted by borkencode at 6:25 AM on April 14, 2010
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posted by BrotherCaine at 4:37 AM on April 14, 2010 [1 favorite]