South Korea's "Shutdown Law" Takes Effect

[MonkeyPunch]

OK, I can see how this would work on PSN and XBL but how would they enforce this on PC?
Make ALL games with an online component force gamers to enter their age somewhere?
Seems terribly unlikely and unwieldy, not to mention that you couldn't enforce this law on older games. (ie. kids under 16 could play all nighters with Unreal Tournament 99 and who's to know)
And then what about browser games? I have no clue how things like Farmville work but aren't they online interactive?

Mentioning that last line actually made me think that it's hardly just online gaming responsible for gaming addicts. I'm sure someone who easily gets addicted to something like WoW could also loose themselves in something like Minecraft, Fallout3 or Skyrim?
Therefore I have to conclude that this isn't a very effective law.

 

[Ulquiorra4sama]

is it really that hard for S-Korean parents to yank their kids from the computer/internet cafe,s?

I guess they could do that if they didn't fear getting murdered in their sleep.

OT: There's an outrage because privilieges are being revoked. Personally i don't think it's such a bad idea per se, but they probably should have gone about it in a different way than just saying "THAT IS A NO-NO!". People don't approve of that sort of thing, i guess there's nothing people loathe more than being told what they AREN'T allowed to do.

Imagine if they outlawed school how many people would start sneaking in there just for the hell of it the first week and within the next month (or year, depending on the people) they'd be having secret study sessions in some private basement.

But yeah, sleep is important. Try finding some time for it (i know i've walked into the trap of gaming > sleep a few times too much before)

 

[Dana22]

hi fascism. Your kids are not really yours, they are the government property.

 

[Fiad]

I honestly support this bill, as much as people will complain about it it is doing the right thing. Only part I don't agree with is the gathering SS numbers and such.

 

[bjj hero]

That's a parenting decision, not one the government should be making laws to enforce. Saying stuff like this is sensible is the first step to allowing it to happen elsewhere.

Also, lets think of where this could lead. First it's just online providers, then it becomes a required feature in consoles so no games can be played after a certain time for kids, then someone decides that making this apply to adults because it would reduce work-related problems...

There already are laws regulating parental decisions so dont act like its such a shocking idea or a huge taboo. Thats why I cannot give my son whisky for breakfast, he cannot have sex with a 55 year old even if I approved, I cannot let him drive me home if Im drunk, he has to be educated, he cannot join the army, even if I think he'd fill sandbags really well. I could go on and on.

So what if it became a required feature in consoles? Your kid shouldnt be playing videogames at 4am. You say expand it to adults but adults have more rights as they have more responsibilities. Most of the civilised world works this way. If you ruin your work day through starcraft then you pay for it in your job, maybe even get fired. Thats part of being an adult.

I noticed your following post arguing that its 1 step away than forcibly implanting machines in people. Are you serious? Thats like saying nationalised health care "could" lead to communism. A silly argument.

 

[Something Amyss]

Mmm I'm not sure its going to have that much effect; if Korea is anything like the west, half the gamers will lie about their age to circumvent having to get age restrictions on their profiles.

More likely, giventhe obsession with MMOs, it'll be like 99%

 

[Erttheking]

This is kinda fucked up.

 

[Cecilthedarkknight_234]

.... only if it would work here with 12 year old's on cod or battle field etc...

 

[Quellist]

Now i'll just say that i am in favor of legalizing and taxing all drugs to kill drug cartels and make sure when people buy the stuff its not polluted or poisoned, so anyway...

Making late gaming illicit will just make kids want to do it more, just like underage smoking, drinking and illegal drugs. So IMO its an epic fail. Just look at Prohibition and the laughable 'war on drugs' and see how successful they were.

 

[dave1004]

I fully agree with this. I don't really know why, but I like the idea of the internet slowly being controlled. In my perfect world, no man or woman will be able to do anything on the internet, without the Government knowing what they did. An utopia, where only the good shall reign!

Thank you, South Korea. Step two, we assault Japan...

 

[mip0]

In a way, I do feel sorry for those kids. They're not as free as they were before.
On the other hand I hope I live long enough to see the results of this experiment, if one can call it that.

 

[mxfox408]

How about parents being fucken parents and telling their spoiled brats No means no and being responsable enough to pull the plug on thier kids.......stupid society now releying on the government to raise thier kids the wonder why they turn out so fucked up.

 

[Danceofmasks]

South Korea has mandatory military service.
People find a way to live with big brother there.

"Why don't they play offline"
Why would they, when they have the fastest internet in the world?
For many years the government has been promoting the internet as the biggest and best thing ever. This policy can be classified as damage control.

Finally, 12 to 6 isn't that big a deal.
You gotta get 6 hours of eating, shitting, and sleeping.
All this is going to do to them kids is teach them how to have a training regiment.
Set alarm clock for 5:30.

 

[Yopaz]

I think this is a lazy, but decent solution to a big problem with the South Korean society. Gaming over there is worse than over here. The best of them are actually idolized over their skills, but it takes a lot to be the best and if they fail to reach their goals they're going to end up with no work experience and no education. Parents should probably do something, but if they don't why not strictly limit kids for playing after midnight?

 

[SteewpidZombie]

Midnight is QUITE reasonable by all standards. If kids under 16 are spending till Midnight and beyond on videogames, that is how you get addicts and health problems that arise from lack of sleep. In South Korea it literally IS a problem that they have, while in North America we have more of things like Teenage smokers.

 

[mxfox408]

Like i said its the parents job not governments, to limit and control what thier kids do.

 

[Sporky111]

I'm more concerned about the adult gamer here. Anyone who plays later than midnight will have to give out their personal information and be verified first.

Besides, that legion of teens is already formulating ways to get around this law. You take away their games, and they're going to put all their ingenuity into getting what they want. It's not going to encourage better habits.

 

[ReinWeisserRitter]

It's not the government's business to mandate such things, but it still wouldn't kill their citizens to spend as much time questioning whether it's time to lay off the games a little as much as they do crying about their rights being violated; they wouldn't be violated in this case if they were acting responsibly in the first place.