China is enacting new rules to restrict the amount of time kids and teens may spend on their phones in an effort to fight internet addiction and promote “good morality” and “socialist values” in young people.
The Cyberspace Administration of China, the top organization in China in charge of internet regulation, has suggested that all smartphones, apps, and app stores have a built-in “minor mode” that restricts daily screen time to a maximum of two hours per day, depending on the age group.
If authorized, the limits would increase the scope of previous policies Beijing has implemented to limit children’s screen time and their exposure to “undesirable information.”
When their permitted time periods were over, the proposed laws would immediately end internet apps for children and teens using devices in minor mode. Until September 2nd, the public may remark on them. They would also get access to “age-based content.”
Between 10 p.m. Nobody under the age of 18 would have access to their displays. and 6 a.m. throughout the mode.
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Balancing Tech and Time
Only 40 minutes a day of phone use would be permitted for kids under eight, while an hour would be allowed for kids aged eight to sixteen. Teens between the ages of 16 and 18 are given two hours.
Users of all ages will receive a reminder to take a break after using a device for more than 30 minutes. The proposal also suggests that mobile internet service providers actively offer content that “disseminates core socialist values” and “builds a sense of community in the Chinese nation.””
Certain educational and emergency services would not be subject to the time limitations, and parents would be able to overrule them. In recent years, “Internet addition” has become a significant societal issue, giving rise to a bootcamp-style treatment center sector that is sometimes scientifically suspect and occasionally deadly.
CNN’s parent interviewees expressed hesitant acceptance of the idea: “I think it’s excellent. On the one hand, it can safeguard their vision because many young children find it difficult to stop themselves from viewing something they enjoy, according to a mother of two in the Zhejiang region of eastern China who wished to remain anonymous.
However, she said, “As parents, it’s much simpler to limit our children’s screen time.” Most significantly, the minor mode’s content is more uplifting and wholesome.
Myopia, which some experts blame on excessive screen time or a lack of exposure to sunlight for young people, is now putting China’s national health at danger.
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Source: CNN
