South Korea, the one place in the world where the internet is reliable and blazing fast. Now, the amount of players on various MMOs will drop sharply after a new curfew law was passed. People under the age of 16 will be cut off from their gaming at midnight.
The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family says that the law is designed to help combat gaming addiction in teens. A few citations of the consequences include a baby starving to death because of parents not doing anything to take care of her, instead taking care of a virtual child.
Opposition is fierce for obvious reasons, and it’s likely this wont even work. People lie about their details online, people use others’ accounts, and the “I Am Under 18” button has never been clicked in the history of the internet.
My opinion on this is rather divided. In all honesty I am sick of 12 year olds on the internet acting like they’re the greatest on earth and immature players on XBox Live shouting things that should net them a whuppin’. Second, I believe that it’s the parent’s responsibility to take care of their kids, not the government.
I believe this has both ups and downs, but I simply do not see it sticking. It would be easy to circumvent, unenforceable, and it’s the government doing the parent’s jobs for them.
a person
I don’t know what kind of ludicrous radical would propose and pass such a law, but I agree entirely with the sentiment of the author. Too often, around the world, is the government doing the job a parent should normally do. It happens more than you might think.