The team leader said: Previously, we shared the story of a game planner. He said, "A realistic, commercialized online game is all designed to make players addicted." Parents who are unable to compete with professional game design, I often have headaches because my children are addicted to games. In order to prevent children from being "addicted to games", gaming and social platforms have launched "anti-addiction" tools for minors. Are these measures really effective? Please follow the leader to find out.
In the past two days, a piece of news [A 13-year-old boy fell to his death while playing "Chicken" and his parents: want to sue the game company] has attracted attention.
In reality, similar news emerges endlessly, and the topic of children being addicted to online games has never stopped. For example, the following parent’s experience:
"It's impossible to guard against it." In recent days, Ms. Zhou's heart has been tightening again.
During the summer vacation that just ended, she spent every day worrying about her 9-year-old daughter Doudou playing games and using TikTok. She could breathe a sigh of relief as school started, but when she brought Doudou back from her grandma's house, she found that Doudou had mastered many new ways to play games and spent more time watching Douyin videos.
Ms. Zhou is helpless. Many children in her hometown are familiar with various electronic products, and their parents don't know how to solve them. Every time Doudou returns to her hometown, her friends will recommend her many "new ways to play."
Like Doudou, the reporter asked many teenagers and they all said that after the important things are done, games become the most attractive thing. The more free time, the more time they spend playing. If there is no other way to entertain myself, I will “play games and scroll through Douyin all morning.”
Is the anti-addiction function of the online platform easy to use?
In accordance with the requirements of national laws and regulations, many game and entertainment software have announced that they have set up anti-addiction functions.
Tencent's Growth Guardian platform claims to cover more than 200 of its game products, and parents can manage the corresponding gaming behaviors of their minor children through the platform.
For example, after turning on the health system of "Honor of Kings", it restricts "minors aged 12 and under to play for 1 hour per day, and minors over 12 to play for 2 hours per day."
After the Douyin platform activates the time lock function of the minor protection tool, if the usage time exceeds 2 hours in a single day, you will need to enter a password to continue using it.
Theoretically, under the premise that parents use the anti-addiction function and children do not try to crack it, teenagers will not play a game or scroll through Douyin all morning. But the first question is, do parents know the existence of these functions?
Among the 8 parents randomly interviewed by the media, 5 parents said they did not know about anti-addiction tools. The two parents whose minor children have serious addiction problems have never heard of anti-addiction tools.
This result is not unexpected, because the team leader found during the test that the entrances to these functions are not very "conspicuous". For example, Tencent's "Growth Guard Platform" is registered and used on its official public platform. Another example is to find Douyin's "Minor Protection Tool". You need to click [Me] – [Settings] in the APP (the three in the upper right corner). Small points) – [Minor Protection Tool] three steps.
"Three small dots placed at such an edge are difficult to see at a glance. Even if I saw them, I didn't know what they meant." When Ms. Zhou opened the protective tool for her daughter, it took her several minutes to find the entrance. .
The premise for these operations is that you know that the platform has this function. However, in these apps, there are no relevant prompts about anti-addiction tools.
Parents believe that they usually do not take the initiative to follow the official accounts of merchants. In order to increase parents' awareness of tools, tools and how to use them should be introduced in a prominent position on the game opening interface. "The most effective method is for game developers to accurately judge the gaming behavior of underage users regardless of their parents."
Cracking the "anti-addiction" method, children know more than their parents
Even if the minor protection tool is turned on, it cannot be guaranteed to be foolproof. After turning on the youth mode in the minor protection tool on Douyin, the group leader still came across a video of a scantily clad woman playing in a swimming pool.
A parent who used the anti-addiction function of games said that the anti-addiction system does have a certain effect. However, underage users can still easily remove their restrictions through other methods.
The group leader searched and found that there are many QQ groups dedicated to helping people avoid addiction. After the group leader randomly entered the group to learn about it, he found that some were self-service operating platforms and some were manual docking, and the price was around 25-50. And these "businesses" are not uncommon on platforms such as Moubao and Mouba.
In addition to these channels, the use of technical means, such as changing the identity information of minors to adult information, is also a major means of cracking the system. A large number of "technical post" tutorials are flooding the Internet. Under various "ingenious tricks", the anti-addiction system is useless.
Wondering how the kids do it? The team leader found a way to crack the Guan Tian anti-addiction system on the Internet, which can be said to be "targeted and defeated individually."
1. Regarding "limiting daily login time for minors" and "strengthening the real-name authentication system", there are at least 4 cracking methods:
■ “Just look for an ID card online, and you can open a black hole again.”
■ Stealing or borrowing adult information for registration has repeatedly failed
■ Stores and trading platforms targeting minors that sell account numbers and identity information appear online
■ Change the identity information of minors to adults through technical means
2. Regarding the "one-click ban", this is what they did:
■ Register an account to bypass parents
■ After testing, some functions of anti-addiction tools are often ineffective in actual use.
Why are children addicted to online games?
On June 18, 2018, the World Health Organization released the 11th edition of the International Classification of Diseases, officially classifying game addiction ( ) as a type of mental illness. WHO says symptoms of gaming addiction include:
Why are online games so attractive to children? Only when parents understand the cause can they prescribe the right medicine.
1. The game is highly responsive and can satisfy children’s inner desires.
Almost all games, even games for younger players, are highly responsive. No matter what you do, it always responds. For example, if a three- or four-year-old child plays Tom Cat, no matter what he tells the game, the game will always repeat him and respond to him.
This state is a very longing state for children. If he cannot get this feeling at home, games can just satisfy him.
2. Children can experience a sense of mastery and control in the game
In the game, as long as you level up well, buy powerful equipment, and form a powerful team, you will always have a way to make yourself experience a very successful feeling.
3. Children gain a sense of accomplishment in games to make up for the loss in reality.
The sense of achievement means that you have reached a certain level in leveling, or you have passed a level, or you have a high score, or you have developed a character to a certain stage. This sense of accomplishment may be for some children. It is rarely found in daily life.
This is why it is often seen that children with mediocre grades in school and no special characteristics are often very easily obsessed with games.
4. Children find a sense of belonging in games and gain psychological comfort.
Nowadays, most online games have social attributes, which can help you get together with a group of people who strongly agree on the same thing. Many players gain psychological comfort through this virtual connection.
5. Children release the suppressed aggression in reality through games
Through games, children release a lot of dissatisfaction with society, such as family and school.
6. Games are a low-cost form of self-entertainment
For adolescent children, they don’t have a lot of money. In many cases, the money part of the game has a very low entry barrier. This is also very attractive for children: I don’t need to ask for too much money from my parents, and I can make myself happy.
What should parents do?Instead of complaining, take action
"We usually take our son to participate in outdoor activities, sports activities and talent learning." Some parents said frankly that they did not restrict their son from using his identity information to play games, but his son was not addicted, and the longest time he played did not exceed 1 Hour. In her eyes, parents' companionship is the most effective solution. "The real world is more exciting than the virtual world. Even if you ask him to play games, he won't be able to do it!"
Media surveys have found that the method used by parents to prevent children from being addicted to electronic products is not a one-size-fits-all approach to "blocking" but a guided approach to "removing". They believe that the most effective anti-addiction methods are "setting rules", "cultivating habits", "parental company", "cultivating more interests and hobbies", etc., and these methods need to be implemented by parents.
Although we currently have no authoritative method to help children get rid of game addiction, when it comes to how to prevent children from game addiction, North American child educationists and psychologists have some good suggestions for parents to refer to:
✔ Clearly define when and where what games can be played, and implement them carefully;
✔ Limit the game time. Experts recommend that you only allow playing on weekends and holidays, not on weekdays. In addition, the game must be closed before 12 midnight;
✔ Playing games should not exceed half an hour at a time before the age of ten, and should not exceed an hour at a time after the age of ten. Put an alarm clock next to the child to set the time, and remind him ten or five minutes before the time;
✔ Limit the total game time per week, it is recommended not to exceed 15 hours;
✔ Clearly define real-life tasks such as schoolwork, housework, sports, social activities, etc. that must be completed before playing the game;
✔ Enrich children’s spare time life and take them to participate in more outdoor activities and group activities;
✔ Parents themselves should put an end to Internet addiction and game addiction, and set a good example for their children.
Text丨Amo
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