Some of us have curfews. Some of us crazed computer lovers even have internet curfews. Ew, parental control. Now imagine your government controlling and deciding when you can go on the internet and play games.
Yeah, doesn't sound fun, does it? Well unfortunately for our fellow South Korean internet-junkie comrades, such a thing exists.
On April 29, 2011 a Juvenile Protection Act bill was passed, forcing online gaming providers to deny access to teenagers 16 years-old and younger between the hours of 12AM-6AM. Those are the best hours for random chats, mindless roaming in Gaming! But that's exactly why this bill was put forward--it's an attempt to discourage the growing gaming addiction taking over South Korea.
Of course, such a bill has garnered a lot of opposition and criticism. While the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and certain businesses argue that the law harms the gaming industry, which is what South Korea is partially known for (Starcraft Power); others believe that this law limits the citizens' freedom to privacy. Many do not enjoy having aspects of their daily life being regulated by the government, and this includes internet use.
Son In Chun, an assemblywoman of the conservative and currently dominant Saenuri Party, is a major supporter of this bill, and has criticized businesses for opposing it. She has stated: "The fact that businesses believe that playing games do not lead to addiction is very disappointing. The gaming addiction phenomenon is actually a very serious problem and it seems that some companies within the business world are responsible for it."
And she has a point--there are stories of Korean citizens who take gaming so seriously, that they neglect their other responsibilities, including their own health. In 2005, an extreme case of gaming addiction occurred when an addict Lee Seung Seob played Starcraft for 50 hours straight at an internet cafe ('PC bang') until he went into cardiac arrest and passed away at a hospital later. In another 2009 case, a couple let their 3 month-old daughter die from malnutrition because they were so invested in a video game. However, those are extreme cases and outliers.
Recently, the Minister of Gender Equality and Family Kim Hee Jung has opposed the Juvenile Protection Act, stating that it's a useless law and that it doesn't solve the problem; "Even with the Juvenile Protection Act, the youth are able to evade its restrictions by stealing adult IDs [to sign in online] and by taking advantage of servers from foreign countries, making the law unnecessary." With that said, Mr. Kim has suggesting repealing the act altogether in a recent confirmation meeting held among the National Assembly.
Meanwhile, supporters of the law such as Son In Chun hope to keep the law in place, and even motion for stricter adjustments to be made. In 2013, Ms. Son even suggested expanding the bill so that teenagers would not be able to play games after 10PM.
Uh, 10PM? I... can't even.
What do you guys think about the issue? Are you for or against the bill?
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I think that they need to try to find a perfect balance between personal and parental life. It is really tough nowadays. I had my personal experience with such activities. I know that our kids could text terrible things among each other. So, that's why I have visited and found the best text spying applications. I know that it's not ethical but really productive.