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Chinese students are hooked on homework apps… because they have games and sexually explicit content
Authorities order schools to take a closer look at these “harmful apps”
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This article originally appeared on ABACUS
In many Chinese schools, students use a lot of “study apps”. The apps let students do their homework online, search textbooks and exam papers for reference, and also let them connect with teachers and take online lectures. Students can even do exams in some of the apps.
But some study apps also offer a different sort of content to hook users… or to be more precise, the usual sort of content that hooks users: Games and sexually suggestive material. And guess what? Parents and authorities in China are not happy.
China’s Ministry of Education said on Wednesday that local primary and secondary schools must take action to prevent “harmful apps” from entering campuses. It ordered schools to immediately stop using study apps that contain sexual and violent content, online games and ads.
For once, the crackdown was cheered by social media users in China.
“This should have happened a long time ago,” one user said on Weibo. “My sister’s kids do their homework on their phones and the teacher would correct them online, and they usually secretly play some games after homework and don’t put down their phones… is this the original intention of doing homework online?”
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