PC GAME CENTERS: Symptom not cause of gaming addiction
Internet cafes, commonly referred to as “PCs” in Mongolian, are one of the most common establishments in UB. Located in close proximity to nearly every school and university in the city, their main customer base is the vast number of mostly male schoolchildren. What started out as a service to provide internet connection to those who did not own personal computers has evolved or, as some would argue, devolved into gaming centers. For a multitude of reasons, the main culprit being video game addiction, PC gaming centers have drawn the ire of not only concerned parents but the government.
In an effort to curb the growing issue of video game addiction, Mayor S.Batbold issued a decree to close down all PC gaming centers in UB last month. With the news of the decree, parents of schoolchildren have come to the support of the decision, while some have questioned the decision as being too severe.
Gaming centers are not exactly new to Mongolia. Beginning in the late 1990’s and the early 2000’s, gaming centers operated Sega’s massively successful Mega Drive II and Sony’s Playstation 1. At some point, the majority of gaming centers transitioned into operating personal computers on the onset of wildly successful games such as Counter Strike and Warcraft. At the same time, these centers also served many Mongolians who did not yet own personal computers.
Over a decade after the transition into a free-market economy, Mongolians were finally at a point where previous luxuries such as personal computers became everyday items. This largely decreased the number of people using internet cafes for access to the internet or word processing. Ultimately, this led to internet cafes to shift its focus towards gaming.
Currently, most of the 400 registered PC gaming centers in the country host modern high-performance gaming computers equipped with a keyboard and mouse designed for gaming. Due to the fact that their main customer base is schoolchildren or university students, most of these centers are located a few hundred if not few meters from nearly every school in UB.
The deliberate choice to locate these centers next to schools has been an area of much criticism. With the popularity of gaming centers, the ease of access and their relatively cheap price has inevitably led to a myriad of issues including mental health issues connected with video game addiction.
Since 2012, the National Center for Mental Health has seen a steady increased in the number of patients treated for addiction to video games. In 2012, the number of patients was 30 while that number reached 72 in 2016. These are only the cases where the patient’s families admitted them to hospitals. There are many cases that go unreported and largely untreated.
In January 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) released the latest draft of its International Compendium of Diseases. Two new additions to the list, the first in several years, are “hazardous gaming” and “gaming disorder”. This effectively puts gaming addiction on par with substance addiction. In Mongolia, many parents and concerned citizens alike have framed the issue of video game addiction as a threat to the future of Mongolia. Many feel that they are losing their children to these video games. From their viewpoint, PC gaming centers do nothing but corrupt the minds of children, pulling them away from their schoolwork and relegate able-bodied men who could otherwise contribute to society and the economy to waste their time. It has reached a point where parents feel closing down gaming centers is the only option.
In terms of regulation of PC gaming centers, Mongolia has a rather comprehensive procedure. Cabinet issued a decree in 2013 to regulate the operations of PC gaming centers, including strict restrictions on age and the time of operations. The procedure clearly states that children under the age of 16 are limited to only 30 to 40 minutes of use and cannot use the computers after 7:00 p.m. But as the case with many laws in Mongolia, it is not fully enforced in reality. The real issue lies within the fact that regulation is not enforced.
The procedure was issued with good intentions, to limit gaming amongst children under the age of 16 as a preventative measure against the number of issues that video game addiction creates. The issue is that these regulations mainly ignored and the police only have the authority to fine gaming centers and not suspend licenses for operating gaming centers.
All of this has led to the mayor taking drastic action to close down all PC gaming centers as an answer to a drastic problem. But in reality, it is not guaranteed that this decree will be enforced fully or even partly. The legality of closing down all PC gaming centers is unclear, as it would essentially mean shutting down hundreds of businesses. Even if it was legal and fully enforced, closing down these centers does not tackle the root of the issue.
Video game addiction is a very real thing even in countries that do not have large numbers of internet cafes. With the absence of PC gaming centers coupled with Mongolia’s increasing consumerism, the issue of video game addiction will shift from these centers to homes. In fact, it can be argued that closing down these gaming centers will be counterproductive. Many people turn to video games during their free time due to the lack of other stimulating activities. Closing gaming centers could potentially push children and young adults to experiment with illicit activities, including alcohol and illegal substances in place for video games.
Due to both seasonal factors and an undeveloped infrastructure, Mongolia lacks choices for youth activities. Sports facilities cost too much and playgrounds are few and far between. Many children who play in PC gaming centers do not have a computer at home to play on, which ultimately pushes them to other activities for stimulation, with many turning towards illicit activities for entertainment.
As is the case with many problems in Mongolia, the problem is enforcement. When enforcement of the rules and laws already in place fails, we look towards drastic measures that seemingly alleviate the problem in the shortterm. In reality, the root of the problem is never truly addressed, leaving it to take on other forms.
...In Mongolia, many parents and concerned citizens alike have framed the issue of video game addiction as a threat to the future of Mongolia...