In April 2019, a PIL was filed in Bombay High Court against mobile game PUBG and court had ordered Union Government to look into the matter and take action accordingly. The PIL was filed by 11-year-old Mumbai resident Ahad Nizam through his mother, and alleged that PUBG game promotes violence, aggression and cyber-bullying.
Now, the cyber unit of Maharashtra has come out with a report on the game and how it affects the young generation, especially school-going and college-going students. The report, created after a month long research, has cited seven reasons why this game should be banned. The report mentions that the game is extremely violent, leads to a gaming addiction, can make one less socially active, promotes bad physical health, affects mental health, disrupts sleep patterns and leaves one with no time to do anything else.
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However, the report also pointed out that any attempt to ban this game will only increase its popularity among people. It said that the issue is not with the content of the PUBG game, but the addition that people have towards this game. Affordable internet connection, rise of smartphones are also some of the reasons which contribute to the addictiveness of this game.
“There should be age and maturity appropriate content on any entertainment platform. However, I am not opposing a platform like PUBG,” said Brijesh Singh, IG, state cyber cell told Mid-Day. The battle game PUBG has faced some issues in some places in the past. Rajkot, Ahmedabad and Himmatnagar cities of Gujarat banned the game earlier, which is now lifted. Vellore Institute of Technology in Tamil Nadu has banned the game.