When they banned TikTok in India, there were many PUBG ‘warriors’ who cheered. 2 September 2020 was a moment of some schadenfreude for those bereaved TikTok fans; because it is now the turn of PUBG to be banned. PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG for the uninitiated) along with 117 other apps is now banned in India because it is decided that these are “prejudicial to the sovereignty, integrity and defence of the nation.”
Several other apps such as Tencent Watchlist, Baidu, WeChat, FaceU etc. have also been banned.
There were many who were waiting for their exams to get over so that they could indulge in some online gaming.
There are of course many who are devastated that they would no longer be able to play the game they love so much.
There were many who had something to do and a way to remain connected to friends because of PUBG during the lockdown.
Those who changed their phones, upgraded their RAM or made other /in-app purchases are feeling extra unhappy.
They don’t play PUBG so they don’t care. Maybe they will when the government interferes with something important for them, but right now this is the misfortune of others.
Parents of kids addicted to PUBG are very happy indeed.
The more of these time-wasting apps that are banned, the happier Indian parents are.
Among the gaming apps, PUBG had among the largest number of users, so parents are proportionately happy.
Parents who were unable to control their children’s online gaming are delighted that the government has done the deed for them.
Parents who are happy at the disappearance of PUBG will alas soon find that there are plenty of alternatives: Call of Duty, ShadowGun Legends, Battle Prime Online, Garena Free Fire, Infinity Ops Sci-Fi to mention a few.
If there isn't one that is good/similar enough right now, there soon will be.
This what the government did and these are the impacts on parents and kids.
Some believe that banning PUBG is the right thing to do; it is good for the nation.
On the other hand are those who feel that banning apps is meaningless.
Many feel that banning apps solves no actual problem and has zero impact on the Chinese or the tense situation on the border where Chinese aggressions continue.
Many students, unhappy with the government’s decision to go ahead with NEET and JEE exams, massively down-voted the PM’s recent address to the nation. This is tit for tat according to this joke you may already have seen on WhatsApp earlier.
The app bans are for the benefit of some industrialists, feel some. This is one example of crony capitalism they say.
Some people wanted to know if the government would proceed to ban other apps /services that are partly or largely funded by Chinese entities as well.
Some feel that now PUBG is banned, there will be more people asking important questions of the government: about spiraling unemployment, ever-increasing COVID cases, worst ever contraction of the economy. The mainstream media has stopped asking questions of the government altogether. Hopefully, citizens will now try to hold the nation’s decision-makers accountable?
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