While many of us go to sleep before midnight, some teenagers choose to stay up much later. They are not driven by the burning desire to write a better essay or achieve a higher grade. Instead, they are busy playing online games. Known as young Internet addicts (有瘾的人), they have long been a problem in China. A report released (发行) in 2016 by the China Youth Association for Network Development showed that there were over 24 million young Internet addicts among China’s young urban Internet users. The report also said that over 18 million youths had a tendency to develop Internet addiction.
To deal with the problem of Internet addiction among teenagers, the Cyberspace Administration of China has released draft (草案) regulations which carried out a ban on online gaming. If the regulations are adopted under-18s would be banned from playing online games between midnight and 8 am.
As soon as the government’s draft law surfaced, it drew great attention from the public. Some support the law as a way to better protect teenagers, saying that too much overnight gaming is harmful to teenagers’ health and believing the period between midnight and 8 am to be important to human physical functions. However, others wondered whether it would be practical if it came into effect, as teenagers could just borrow their parents’ IDs to register (注册) accounts to play online games. The Guangming Daily suggested that parents should help their teenagers find a balance between the cyber world and the real world.
China is by no means the only one trying to fight against teenager gaming addiction. Germany introduced a regulation in 2002 in an attempt to stop teens from playing online games from 10 pm to 6 am. Meanwhile, the UK, the US and Australia have forced a rating system on computer games to make sure that teenagers cannot access “adult” content such as violence, sex or bad language.
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It is a common sight on campus or in the streets: a young person rides by on an electric scooter, traveling quickly and proudly. But Beijing’s traffic authorities have said that starting on Sept.5, people who are caught riding electric scooters on public roads or bicycle lanes will be fined 10 yuan. They will also be given a warning not to use the vehicles on public roads again.
The announcement was made after traffic police in Shanghai started a campaign to get electric scooters off public roads, with police officers stopping riders because the scooters could cause traffic problems.
The Beijing Consumer Association said it had tested more than 20 electric scooters of different brands recently and found that most had substandard brakes. It added that 16 of the tested scooters could go faster than the maximum 20 km per hour set for electric bikes. According to the traffic police, people who ride electric scooters at certain speeds can easily bump into the vehicles in the vehicle lane and hurt people who walk in the bicycle lanes.
But seeing the benefits that electric scooters have brought to young people, experts are worried that the ban may take effect slowly.
Electric scooters are a great answer to the ‘last mile problem’ of getting from a public transport station to one’s home. They’re light enough to throw over your shoulder. They’re easy to ride just about anywhere and don’t need a lot of physical effort. The scooter can travel 25 km on one charge. It’s convenient and easy to control.
They are also good for environment. Unlike cars and buses, electric scooters produce no carbon dioxide, need no fuel and make almost no noise.
For many young people, they use them to copy cool celebrities they have seen in videos.
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