Find us on Instagram!- @thepaperlesspress
We are also on Youtube- The Paperless Press
Support us on Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/ThePaperlessPress/
-Cover Story-
China vs. Gaming!
By Abhimanyu Rao
About a month ago, China issued a nationwide rule that shocked the entire population, especially the younger generation, and that is a lot of people, because it is the world’s most populous country. “What was that announcement?”, you ask. Well, the announcement they made was that gaming for minors will now be limited to an hour on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, and an hour on public holidays! This was a shock to not only Chinese children, but to the world at large. Whether or not people agreed, no one expected a government to take a step that huge, and in fact, some thought that the government was overstepping its boundaries. Today, we shall see what this decision actually means for China, and for the world.
The Pros:
This decision has flabbergasted many, but there are some benefits to it.
Anyone who has read Calvin and Hobbes has seen the two pals running around in the great outdoors, and having the adventure of a lifetime every day, not even a kilometer away from their house! Without video games for five days a week, people will have to find alternate sources of entertainment. These could include reading, playing outdoors, writing stories and poetry, playing board games, and so much more - the way children were, in a pre-technology obsessed era! A lot of these activities have started slipping in relevance, and the return of these activities could be a welcome step!
This will not only support mental development, but can also introduce children to entertainment they never would have tried! This could lead to them finding something that they love, but never tried before, and will lead to them developing a balance between video games and other activities.
The final pro is that this is a great way for people to learn to be optimistic! To many people, gaming could have been their sole pastime. To those people, this would have been a devastating decision. However, after they find a replacement activity, they will definitely view the bright side of the rule, and will understand the art of being optimistic, which can make many people happier about their lives!
The Cons:
Unfortunately, while there are some great aspects to this decision, there are also some huge flaws as well!
Firstly, like many people felt, this decision was a huge overstepping of boundaries. As long as people aren’t doing something illegal, people’s private lives are their own lives. If people are playing games in their free time, they aren’t breaking any laws, so they should be allowed to do it. The government should not have interfered in something so harmless. This has been hugely debated, with many people saying that this is not government jurisdiction!
Next, this is a huge blow to gaming companies. Companies like MSI and Alienware make specialised gaming devices. These devices are specially designed to make running games a better experience, with graphics being optimised, and processors being specially tailored to run games. Additionally, there are also companies like Nvidia that make graphic cards for gaming, and several other companies that make games, like China based company Tencent Gaming. All of these companies earn their income through video games, and this decrease in video game time has negatively impacted their business.
Just ask yourself, would you pay some extra money for a device specialised for running video games if you were going to be able to use it for three hours on predetermined days a week. I mean sure, people will play games for those three hours a week, but for that, you can just use a regular device! Similarly, would you pay for a game that you might play once or twice a month, when you could play free games instead? Probably not!
This is a clear depiction of what this law has done to gaming companies, and hopefully, this has helped you understand what the implications of this decision is!
The Verdict
It is time! I have analysed the decision, and am now giving my view, and I say…(drumroll!)
The government overstepped. Why? Well, because I understand why they were saying this, but I don’t support it. Firstly, by limiting this to public holidays and the weekend, this binds people to these days. Even if they had allowed a maximum of three hours total in a week, this would have been slightly better, because it would give children the freedom to play it whenever, and not just on certain days. What if people weren’t free on the weekend, but finished all their work early on a Monday? Secondly, this seems like an abuse of power in a situation where privacy and the right to business are both impacted without just cause.
What I feel was that they should have given an advisory press release, and parents or guardians could have made decisions accordingly, instead of making all citizens conform, and that was my verdict!
-------------
By: Agastya Rao
The Melbourne Cricket Club has changed the term ‘Batsman’ to ‘Batter’ and changed it to gender neutral terms to give equal importance to Women’s Cricket. This move is great as it shows that the world is changing for the better. We hope that other Cricket Clubs and associations too follow similar changes in the norms to attain equality in all forms for Cricket!
For hundreds of years, the sacrifices made by unsung heroes have been hidden away from the world and not been told to anyone, this however is changing. Simon Gronowski was saved by 3 Belgian resistance fighters as he was being taken away by Nazis to Auschwitz, the inhumane concentration camp. The fighters saved his life, and now at the age of 90 an Opera is being made on the story of how he escaped the Nazis because of the 3 Belgian fighters. A statue was also erected for the 3 fighters recently.
These last two years have been hard for adults and children. A Primary School teacher in the United States of America has found a solution to this. Using a simple 3 word text “Handle With Care” and asked parents to send a message “handle with care” whenever they felt that a student was having a bad day or needed extra support on that day, so that she could give a few minutes of extra help to the student. This idea should be used in each school across the world to support students!
By: Mihir Rao
1. History is fascinating, but space history is even more fascinating. Nasa’s Lucy mission is going to observe Jupiter’s Trojan Asteroids. Just like their name, peering into what they are may give us more insight on how the solar system was initially, 4.5 billion years ago, since these asteroids have been here for a long time. Thankfully unlike the mythology with the same name, this surprise hopefully won’t be a bad one.
2. Recently, a chamber in a Gibraltar cave was found. What’s so interesting about that? Well, this cave was inhabited by Neanderthals, and this cave was at least 40,000 years old. A whelk (marine mollusc) was found in the cave, 20 metres from the beach, which was evidence that Neanderthals did inhabit that part of the cave. Scientists from the Gibraltar National Museum believe this to be the key to making interesting discoveries about the lifestyle of Neanderthals.
3. The mysterious ‘Well of Hell’ in Yemen is a large hole about 30 metres wide, which goes down around 110 metres below the surface. This hole was shrouded in mystery, and legend has it that this hole is a prison for genies! Recently, an exploration team ventured to the depths of this hole for the first time and they found that it wasn’t that scary after all
4. The Isle of Wight is just an island off the coast of southern England? Actually, it’s very important in terms of dinosaurs! Recently, two new discoveries have been made! Two different bones have been found, which belong to two different species of dinosaurs, which were previously undiscovered! These archaeological finds help us understand the UK's Dinosaur capital better.
----------------------------
1. Enrico Fermi, the person who created the Fermi Paradox, was born. The Fermi Paradox is a paradox that shows that even though there is a high probability of aliens in the universe, there is very little evidence to support the existence of extraterrestrial life.
2. Falcon 1, one of the first liquid-fuelled rockets that wasn’t made by a government, was launched. This rocket made 5 flights in total and it went into orbit on its fourth attempt.
Entertainment quotient for the week:
Disney
Mr. Popper's Pengiuns
Netflix
He-Man and the Masters of the Universe(2021 reprise of the old favourite!)
------------
Visit these pages to see some of our other endeavours!
Visit A Dogs Daily Antics to laugh your heart out with crazy captioned dog photos!
Visit The Chinappa Channel to see some quirky but nice videos that will make you roll with laughter
A Note To Our Readers:
We thank our readers for supporting us this past year. We truly hope you enjoyed this digest and we hope this put a smile on your face. Here at The Paperless Press, we strive to provide free,fun and positive news. We would be very happy to receive your feedback and receive guest submissions from our readers. We hope that you spread the word and enjoy reading our digests.
-The Paperless Press
We hope this issue brightened up your day!
Contact us at-
The Paperless Press ™
© 2021 The Paperless Press™ All Rights Reserved