Chinese schoolchildren hiring phones to get video game fix
Smartphone cafes are springing up in two Chinese cities catering to youngsters whose parents will not buy them a mobile to play games on, news website reports
“Smartphone cafes” – where children can rent phones for 1 yuan (16 US cents) an hour to play video games – are springing up in areas close to primary and secondary schools in two Chinese cities, according to a news website report.
The businesses cater to children in Nanchang and Jiujiang in Jiangxi province whose parents have not given them smartphones, but who want to play video games on them, Thepaper.cn reported.
“My mum will not let me play any games because she only wants me to study,” one primary school pupil was quoted as saying, who visits one of the cafes once a month.
One of the cafes in Nanchang is only 30 meters away from a primary school. A frequent primary school customer said it offered a range of smartphones, with trending mobile game apps downloaded, to rent. Tablet computers are also for hire.
Another cafe in Jiangxi was originally a milk tea and stationery shop. It now sells “10 yuan packages” allowing young customers to get a milk tea and play with the smartphones in the store.
