In a recent meeting in the parliament, one of the parliament members has raised the topic to ban online games due to their negative effects on teenagers. The honorable member Mrs. Asha Kumari B.K. says; “the online games like PUBG Mobile and Freefire are giving a negative impact on the children messing with their mental health”. She also says; “although the use of the internet has increased, the addictive behavior of children is scary. Children’s PUBG addiction manifests itself in a lack of focus on other everyday activities, agitation, and anxiety”.
Regarding this issue, the head of the parliament also gave some negative comments about banning these online games. Though, games like PUBG and Freefire have bought a field of opportunity in youth these days.
PUBG streamers like 4k Gaming also talked about this topic in his live streaming on Facebook. He said it’d be hard for him if PUBG gets banned in Nepal. People on the internet are saying the government is only looking at the negative sides of these games and is planning to ban these games. Recently DRS Gaming has managed to represent Nepal at the international PUBG Mobile Tournament and won around Nrs.65 Lakhs for charity donation in Nepal. Also, many PUBG Mobile teams from Nepal has won thousands of dollar in the past few years. One of the teams was Abrupt Slayers (Currently known as Skylightz Gaming), who won USD $40,000 during PUBG Mobile Pro League – Fall Split 2020.
Government should probably look at the positive side of these games before making any decisions about banning online games in Nepal. Games like Free fire also have huge scope in the Nepali context as many youth play this game. Other countries have officially recognized this gaming platform and now it’s time for our country to look at the positive sides of gaming platforms.
Although this is not the first time we are hearing people wanting these games to get banned in Nepal. In fact, PUBG Mobile was temporarily banned in Nepal last year. But this time, the topic about banning PUBG Mobile & FREE Fire has reached the parliament house. So let’s see how the government will act in this matter.
