In Sony and Nintendo’s homeland of Japan, addiction to video games is a social problem worsened by the pandemic, as elsewhere, and local authorities have been unable to tackle it.
Each month, a group of parents gather in Tokyo to share their stories and how they are coping with their video game-addicted child.on a video console, computer, tablet or mobile phone.
“My only consolation is that he kept his promise to unplug for the night,” one man says of his son, while another says he had to take his son to a digital detox center.
Japanese children are starting to play video games more and more early, and many are spending much more time since the covid-19 pandemic.Sakiko Kuroda, the founder of this parent group in Tokyo, is a .
According to a study published by the Japanese Ministry of Education in April this year, 17 percent of Japanese children aged 6 to 12 play video games for more than four hours a day, up from 9 percent in 2017. There was a similar jump up to the age of 15.
Kuroda suggests that many parents don’t know how to manage the problem and there is “indifference of the government and the video game industry.”
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Since 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially recognizes “game use disorder”, which is characterized by “disruption of control over gaming”, “increased priority given to gaming over others”, “interest and activities of daily living” and ” continuation or increase of gambling despite negative consequences” is at least 12 months.
This disorder is difficult to diagnose and measure because gaming often overlaps with other online activities. (such as constantly watching videos or entering social networks).
Other Asian countries have taken some radical measures to combat this phenomenon. For more than a year, minors under 18 have been allowed to play video games for up to three hours a week in China. Even facial recognition techniques or other identity checking techniques are used to enforce the rule.
In response, South Korea lifted a rule last year that prohibited children under the age of 16 from playing online video games between midnight and 6 am. According to local media, the measure proved ineffective.
However, there are no restrictive measures at the national level in Japan. In 2020, the Kagawa department in the west of the country passed a regulation banning under-18s from playing for more than one hour a day, but did not provide any means to enforce it.
(You may be interested: Does playing video games for a few hours a day damage TVs?).
Many parents and experts believe that video game addiction actually hides a deeper discomfort and in some cases can even be positive for the child.
In this sense, one mother told AFP that video games have become a “lifeline” that her daughter clings to to deal with her problems. When he tried to confiscate his tablet three years ago, his then-ten-year-old daughter had told him, “I would rather die than have it taken from me.”
Takahisa Masuda, a 46-year-old social worker, became addicted to video games as a teenager when she was bullied at school.
According to her, her addiction saved her: “I thought of committing suicide but wanted to finish Dragon Quest, a famous role-playing game”.
So, the director of a medical center for addictions in Kurihama (southwest of Tokyo), Dr. Susumu Higuchi advises children to engage in psychological support and collective activities such as sports and arts, rather than recommending drastic withdrawal measures. kitchen etc.
(We recommend: These are the most anticipated games of December).
But according to Higuchi, both the government and the industry should be more involved. “A balance is needed when addressing the topic of video games and digital devices,” he said.
“At the moment, however, I have the impression that measures to control adverse effects have been removed with the introduction of video games,” he said.
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KYOKO HASEGAWA
AFP
Tokyo
Source: Exame
I am Bret Jackson, a professional journalist and author for Gadget Onus, where I specialize in writing about the gaming industry. With over 6 years of experience in my field, I have built up an extensive portfolio that ranges from reviews to interviews with top figures within the industry. My work has been featured on various news sites, providing readers with insightful analysis regarding the current state of gaming culture.
