Countries where PUBG is banned | Nepal became the second country to Ban PUBG

                                                         PUBG BANNED

On April, 4th of 2019, Player Unknown Battleground also known as PUBG which is the most popular mobile game, PUBG (Players Unknown’s Battle Grounds) just now, saw a ban imposed on it! Yes, you read that right… The Central Investigation Bureau directed the Nepal Telecommunications Authority to impose a ban on the game.

This widely popular mobile game recently came under siege due to some events and accidents. The world saw some quite bizarre actions from the players. More so, in India. And it seems that has followed its way to Nepal as well. Concerned guardians of some players sought the police for help after seeing their children developing disorders due to the game. They claimed that apart from not being able to concentrate on anything else other than the game, the children also faced sleeping disorders.

The game can be, honestly, quite addicting. And many who got addicted became victims of unfortunate circumstances. If you google “Most bizarre PUBG related accidents, you’ll find some really unpleasant stuff. Some have gone through divorces, while some have left their family. As for others, less severe cases, they’ve become so addicted to the game – staying late in the night, and sometimes, until wee hours of the morning playing the game, and neglecting studies or jobs.

The game is now banned in China and sees a partial ban in India. It is not playable for more than 6 hours in India, and police there have arrested quite a few youths for playing the game. And there were instances like a youth losing consciousness after continuously playing the game as well. And after a case lodged at the Kathmandu District Court, the game is now banned in Nepal as well.

A/C to a article from Kathmandu Post:https://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com/news/2019-04-11/telecom-authority-bans-popular-online-game-pubg.html

The Metropolitan Crime Division had filed a Public Interest Litigation at the Kathmandu District Court on Wednesday, seeking permission to ban PUBG. In its litigation, the division said that the game was having a negative effect on the behaviour and study of children and youths. The district court gave permission to ban PUBG the same day.

“We received a number of complaints from parents, schools and school associations regarding the effect of the game on children,” Senior Superintendent of Police Dhiraj Pratap Singh, chief of the Metropolitan Crime Division, told the Post. “We also held discussions with psychiatrists before requesting the Kathmandu District Court for permission to ban the game.”

After the court permission, the division then sent a letter to the National Telecommunication Authority requesting it to ban the game.

“Based on a letter from the crime division, we have ordered all internet and mobile service providers to ban the game,” Purushottam Khanal, acting chairman of the Nepal Telecommunication Authority, told the Post.

“Parents and schools had complained that the game was affecting their children’s studies and making them more aggressive. When we consulted with psychiatrists, they also said that the violence in the game can make people aggressive in real life,” said Singh.

The letter sent by the division to the authority, a copy of which was obtained by the Post, states that PUBG “should be banned at the earliest in order to reduce its negative impact on the people playing it.”

“Many other countries have also banned the game citing increasing aggressiveness in students. The game should be banned by Nepal as well in order to mitigate its effect on the mental health of the people of our country,” reads the letter.

“When I reach home tired after my college, I play PUBG; it’s quite refreshing. I do not play it because I am addicted to it. I play the game because it’s very satisfying,” said Manzeela Mahat, a third year BA student at Ratna Rajyalaxmi Campus.

Here’s an interesting take regarding the ban of the game. Gaming addiction, are most likely, a result of some other underlying mental or social problems – as a Dutch study suggested. And a ban is not really a solution to these problems. There are things like VPN, and even if they ban the servers, there are plenty of other video games.

PuBG is addictive, yes. I, too, have found myself, playing the game continuously. However, one should learn to keep oneself in check. To get addicted to a point where you can no longer socially function, is not a fault of the game, but maybe the player? Of course, it’s not his / her “fault”… but there must be an underlying cause. So, instead of banning the game so that a whole lot of healthy players suffer, maybe monitoring your child’s health or keeping yourself in check could be the solution?

What are your thoughts on this? We get that this could be a sensitive topic for some, and controversial for others. But do let us know your thoughts on this.
                     
                                                                                                            Source: Kathmandu post
                                                                                                                        gandgetbyte nepal