All the hullabaloo on PUBG

There is a (not so) fine line between obsession and addiction. Both have existed simultaneously for millennia. The older generations are now worried for the younger because of their obsession with PubG, were once themselves smitten by rock music or cultural icons of the late 80s. We have heard of older generations spending all their cash on gaming arcades. But they eventually moved on, didn't they?

While a ban wouldn't be a completely ridiculous step taken to curb PubG addiction, it's efficiency is doubtful. How does one propose such a ban? Will, they tie-up with companies to remove all references from the internet? Will that even minutely affects anyone who knows enough about the internet to use a proxy network? Will they try to censor our internet consumption like China? Will they start arresting YouTubers who publish gameplay videos?

Regulation might boast of greater efficiency. PubG recently declared that they would limit an individual's gaming time to 6 hours per day. When the Indian government announced six subsidized cylinders per connection and one connection per family, numerous Indian pretended to shift to nuclear families to get other connections that can be used to take subsidy on all cylinders required by the family. When the Indian government announced a crackdown on black money, the citizens were swift to transfer their illegal cash to their relative's accounts to avoid suspicion. "Jugaad" is in our blood. When our parents don't shy away from using questionable means to meet ends, who is stopping us from making different accounts in the numerous devices we have?

How ridiculous it will be to get asked to get KYC done to obtain a PubG account! It is a game meant to entertain. Connecting each account to a mobile number won't help in curbing addiction either.

Tackling cultural problems should begin from where they start — the culture. Let's go back to the first statement. Obsession is easy to handle. Remove the object of desire away from your eyes. Replace your gaming time from actually playing in the app to watching gameplays. Tencent can begin by promoting gameplay videos inside the app itself. It can then move on to make the game impossibly tricky for advanced players and promote gaming literature. The app can roll out gaming or monetary benefits for users who are willing to contribute to the gaming community as developers rather than users. The key is to keep the user occupied in other, more constructive things while simultaneously benefitting their corporation and expanding their gaming universe.

For younger children and students, this should not be a problem. The parents have to take responsibility and keep small devices away from children. Having a desktop in the hall, where everyone can see what the child does in the PC is better than having numerous mobile phones for kids as young as six years old. Even when preteens are given an internet connection, parents should allow them only a slow 2G or 3G connection. The software can also be rigged to allow a slow speed of data even with full bandwidth. It will help children not get obsessed with the internet in the first place.

Addiction, however, is much difficult to remove. It is far more dangerous than an obsession, where the addicted might even commit suicide if the game is taken away from him. Withdrawal symptoms of addictions are often traumatic and painful, and the addict needs full emotional support from his family to combat it. Simply snatching the game away does not help. For gaming addictions, the steps needed to be taken are the same as that in any other addiction. A loved one should be allowed to help the person. Exercise as much as you can. Express yourself. Tencent and all other major gaming companies should open a helpline, lest anyone needs it. Gaming addiction often manifests itself when an addict has already suffered a traumatic incident or is trying to run away from reality. These helplines will work like any other helpline meant for counselling.

Furthermore, the company needs to check up on the addict periodically, talking like a friend. They should tie-up with local mental health clinics and refer the addicts if they cannot recover. Rehabilitation may or may not work in one try, but they work if the addict becomes willing to make it work.

Healthy cultural environments and happiness in families must also be promoted. Parents must not instil in their children a fear of socializing. This fear makes it difficult to cope for people moving to different cities for work and studies. Lastly, everyone needs to learn the value of housework. Children often don't grow up doing household chores, that makes them think it is acceptable to skimp on it, and then they go on playing for hours without breaks. A healthy habit of housework done in the right time of the day (and night) will discourage people from using tech devices at a stretch.