This is "defeat magic with magic", but let him design the game instead? The social worker said the child is addicted to games

In the eyes of many parents, games are a scourge for children, always linked to addiction, dependence, truancy and other behaviors. However, an organization initiated and operated by a game company has become the creation unit of the national youth rights protection post in 2023-2024. Does it sound a little incredible?

This organization is the Shanghai Polk Charity Foundation. In 2021, they launched a public welfare project called the "Game Literacy Plan". Through lectures and game co-creation, they guide young people to view games correctly, provide support to parents in need, and also Providing tools for frontline youth educators.

"What changes will it bring if children change from gamers to game designers and turn their attention from the screen to life?" Chen Jiafeng is a youth social worker at Shanghai Zhongzhi Community Service Agency. He has been a social worker for 21 years. He sees the gaming addiction problem getting worse. After joining the "Game Literacy Project" and becoming a "Game Literacy Instructor", he looked at the problem from a different perspective.

Today, more than 150 youth social workers in Shanghai have been trained to become “game literacy instructors.” They go into communities and schools to lead young people to re-understand games and themselves.

Use magic to defeat magic, use games to popularize science games

A few days ago, when Chen Jiafeng was conducting legal education for teenagers, the children were so imaginative that they designed a game called "Anti-Fraud Elite". Borrowing the game rules of "Werewolf", the game has set role cards such as civilians, fraudsters, cyber police, bank managers, etc., and also set up a variety of fraud methods. Only by carefully screening and staying vigilant can the case be successfully solved.

"The relevant plots are all real cases. In the process of designing games, children have a deeper understanding of how to spot scams and protect themselves." Chen Jiafeng said that in traditional education about games, the most important thing parents ask of their children is to "Play less" and "restrain", but he believes that "the game itself is a dish, and the dish is very popular. The key depends on what dish you put on it."

After the ice-breaking session in the game co-creation workshop, Chen Jiafeng guided the children to think about what division of labor is needed to make a game? How can games be attractive? How can the theme be integrated into the plot? The tool he used was the toolbox "Game Hero Story" designed by Pork Charity, which included game maps, characters, tasks and props. Children had to design a game product through role-playing and teamwork.

After doing 17 events last year, the most common feedback Chen Jiafeng received was "interesting". He observed that the logic of high school students is more rigorous and the game structure they design is clearer; although the framework of elementary school students is simple, they have many interesting and unconstrained ideas. Chen Jiafeng said that in teamwork, each person's characteristics will also be revealed. Some people have strong logical ability, while others are good at art. Then we can each show our strengths. You design the rules, I create the role, and we work together to polish the product. "Cultivating game literacy is actually to help young people obtain positive effects in games. This is 'defeat magic with magic'."

Zhang Chunjuan, a social worker at Shanghai Rongcheng Community Safety Service Co., Ltd., is also very touched by this. She has come into contact with several clients who are severely addicted to gaming, all of whom are children between the ages of 14 and 16. When encountering such children before, it was difficult to find a breakthrough. The current game creation workshop gives social workers more opportunities to talk to children. "They said that they found playing games to relieve stress before. After designing their own games, they realized that the process was not simple and even a bit 'brain-burning.'"

Zhang Chunjuan said that in the past, teenagers thought about how to play games themselves. From the standpoint of designers, they would think about how to attract others to play. "They will think about how to design levels so that people will have the desire to constantly break through levels? If the game is to be profitable, what angles can be started from? In the process of communication and collision, they will realize that when they play the game, they are What kind of incentive mechanism are you attracted to, and which links do you charge money for, and then verify or reflect on past behaviors.”

In an on-campus event in April, Zhang Chunjuan set the theme of technology changing life. The children were divided when designing the game. Some wanted to use technology to make life more convenient; others believed that technological progress would affect the environment, and the theme should be environmental protection first. "Later I asked them to work separately, and the final result was also very good. We always teach some adult values ​​​​to the children. In fact, the children know a lot. In the process of creating the game, they will tell us in turn what they think about this game. What the world expects.”

In 2024, the "Regulations on the Internet Protection of Minors" will be officially implemented. This is the first specialized comprehensive legislation on the Internet protection of minors introduced in our country. It clearly states that schools and families should educate and guide minors to participate in activities that are beneficial to physical and mental health, and prevent and intervene in minors' addiction to the Internet.

But it's never easy. “Parents often ask social workers, what’s wrong with my child? Why does he love playing games more than doing homework? What should I do if my child gets irritable and quarrels after not letting him play games? In fact, in essence, it’s because the children There is a widespread problem of excessive stress," said Han Yang, Secretary General of the Shanghai Polk Charity Foundation. To this end, they invited game industry experts, psychologists, and education experts to specially develop a game literacy family education course to help parents answer questions. Puzzled.

Do not condemn your children for playing games, do not blame or emphasize their emotions, and do not repeatedly vent your dissatisfaction to your children; you can express your curiosity about the game to your children, capture your children's emotional changes while playing games, and explain pauses in the form of rest and exhaustion. The behavior of games can help children find other points of interest... These suggestions have brought practical help to many parents, so how can children also benefit?

"Children always love creating more than listening to lectures. We wanted them to participate hands-on, so we created a game literacy box. As expected, we found that children had many fresh perspectives when creating game works." Han Yang said, as As more and more social workers join in, they receive more positive feedback: In the process of game co-creation, children can not only experience the fun of games, understand the essence of games, and learn to control and balance the relationship between games and daily life. You will also be able to understand how to work as a team and solve problems creatively in the process of designing games.

Anti-addiction is just solving problems. There are no fixed answers to open topics about future development.

In the office of the Polk Charity Foundation, many paper games drawn by children are on display - some children are concerned about rural education and have designed a "principal" simulator. Players can play the role of the principal and run the school. The goal is to make the school's software and hardware comprehensive. development, so as to have a deeper understanding of rural education; some children pay attention to biodiversity and design a "Colorful Ocean World". Through small games similar to flying chess, they travel through the ocean world, allowing players to immersively understand the different things in the ocean. Creatures and the obstacles they encounter in life; some children have also designed growth-related games, using "what kind of life do you want to live" as the line. Making choices at different stages of growth will lead to a different life.

Some games contain hidden words that children cannot usually say. Han Yang mentioned an anti-school bullying game. Children set the roles of participants from different perspectives, with different development paths, endings, and experiences. Participants can understand the dangers of school bullying from multiple angles, which is suitable for young people. The hot spots of attention are not just for teenagers to look at problems from a single perspective. The design idea is very clever.

During the event, Zhang Chunjuan also encountered children who paid attention to this topic. "When they design levels, they will tell you a lot of details. Those concerns about verbal bullying, social exclusion and online attacks are things they would not usually talk about." Zhang Chunjuan said that in the process of cultivating game literacy, teenagers are constantly exploring themselves. , looking for solutions to problems, social workers also have more opportunities to communicate with children.

This year, Polk Charity designed a set of "Sustainable Future Issue Cards", which include the United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals, such as no poverty, zero hunger, quality education, gender equality, etc. Game literacy facilitators can choose cards that guide children to think about how to creatively solve global problems as game designers.

"We hope to tell young people that everyone can be an actor for a sustainable future. We also have the ability to participate in and make changes in these global social issues." Han Yang said: "We also hope that we can 'solve' these global social issues. The problem is a public welfare project with the original intention, and it can "affect the future."