A parental control project to fight against the increasing obsession with online games among teenagers started on March 1 throughout China, but some college students are saying the claims are overblown.
A pilot of the parental control project was started last year. It demanded that online game companies keep track of accounts owned by teenagers under 18 and restrict their weekly gaming time.
Tao Hongkai, a professor from the Central China Normal University who was quite known for his efforts to help those teens in China addicted to online gaming, argued for the progress of the parental control project.
"The young generation is obsessed with online games. Even students in top universities, including those in Tsinghua University and Peking University, are no exception." Tao said, "Male dormitories in universities are turning into Internet bars and students are skipping classes to play games."
Students shared different views on this matter.
A student from the Chinese Language Department of Peking University said: "I doubt whether the expert conducted a survey or had authentic data, but I think he exaggerated the true situation."
The student said networks in his campus were restricted to access online games. His classmates only play small games offline sometimes, including Mine Sweeper and the Angry Birds.
Another student from the Hydraulic Engineering Department of Tsinghua University said only three out of twenty students in his class played online games. But they were far from obsessed, he said.
Administrative staff in the two universities also denied Tao's claims.
The news center director of the Tsinghua University said that Tsinghua's students are renowned for their diligence in study, and he never has heard of any student who skipped classes to play games.
A teacher from the publicity department of the Peking University said there was a hard-working atmosphere in dormitories. "You can find flocks of students return from libraries and classrooms at 10 p.m. though the semester has just started," the teacher said.
By Li Mu, People's Daily OnlineRelated Reading
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