Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) has issued an advisory against games like PUBG, Fortnite, Grand Theft Auto and Pokemon Go. All these games have received a lot of flak in India recently owing to their violent and sexual content. DCPCR has also requested the directorate of education (DoE) to ask schools to spread awareness about the ill-effects of online gaming.
Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) on Monday listed video and online games such as PUBG, Fortnite, Grand Theft Auto, God of War, Hitman, Plague Inc and Pokemon as harmful, negative and having an adverse impact on the brain of the children, ANI said on its Twitter account.
"There are several games in which children can murder zombies or drive vehicles at boisterous speeds. These games are full of misogyny, hate, deceit and vengeance and it may negatively impact their brain," said the advisory.
DCPCR member Ranjana Prasad said the advisory was sent out as a pre-emptive measure, taking cognizance of "reports of accidents caused by these games in Gujarat and Mumbai".
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Earlier last month, Gujarat government too had banned the popular mobile game PUBG from primary schools. Some academic institutions have claimed direct correlation between the violent game, like PUBG, and the mental health of kids. This has led to some schools and colleges banning the game on their campuses. Late last year, Vellore Institute of Technology too had banned PUBG on its campus.
Meanwhile, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has recommended a ban on the game across the country.
"The NCPCR had sent a letter to all the states and recommended a ban on the game. All the states are required to implement it. Looking at the negative effects of the game, we had recently sent a letter to the state government recommending a ban on the game," said Jagruti Pandya, chairperson of the Gujarat child rights body.
PUBG or 'Playerunknown's Battlegrounds' is an online game where two or more online partners play on the backdrop of a battlefield. Incidentally, even Prime Minister Narendra Modi had referred to the craze for this game during his interaction with students and parents about exam stress a few days back.
Edited by Udit Verma