One of the ways that parents “reward” kids for good behavior, like doing their chores, completing homework on time, and so on would be to give them access to TV, games, mobile devices, computer time, and etc. Now it looks like Tencent wants to make these rewards more official through digital contracts.
The company’s CEO Ma Huateng has proposed the introduction of digital contracts, where upon successfully meeting the terms of the contract will see parents reward their kids with game time. Unsurprisingly this game time will be tied to Tencent’s games, which we guess serves a few purposes, such as giving parents the impression that Tencent is trying to help curb excessive video game playing.
The other purpose might not be quite as altruistic as Tencent’s Honor of Kings (also known as Arena of Valor in the US) has become a very popular and addictive title in China, to the point where some have likened its addictive nature to that of opium. By introducing these kinds of “reward” systems, Tencent could possibly be trying to find a way to curb the addiction on their own terms before the government steps in with their own solution.
It is an interesting proposal, especially with the World Health Organization considering classifying game addition as a mental disorder. That being said, when and how Tencent plans on introducing these digital contracts remains to be seen.
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