Games and sexual content: Why Chinese students are hooked on study apps

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, connect with teachers, and take online lectures. Students can even do the exams in some of the apps.

But some study apps also offer different sorts of content to hook users. To be more precise, these are the usual contents that hook users: games and sexually suggestive material. And guess what? Parents and authorities in China are not happy.

One of the most popular study apps in China, Zuoyebang lets users take exams online and ask for teachers’ help. It also has a content feed that features study-related articles. / Photo credit: Zuoyebang

China’s Ministry of Education said last 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?”

Since late 2017, multiple study apps in China have been found to be hosting not-suitable-for-school content on their platforms, such as games, erotic novels, and sexually suggestive articles.

In October 2018, state broadcaster CCTV reported that an app named Interactive Homework offers a lot of age-inappropriate games, some of which feature concubines in revealing outfits. It was also reported that it regularly published dirty articles on its official WeChat account. China’s anti-porn office then investigated and suspended the app.

A concubine game found in Interactive Homework’s official WeChat account, reported by CCTV. / Photo credit: CCTV

CCTV also called out another homework app called Together Primary School Students, which also offers a range of games, some of which even ask students to pay. Some teachers reportedly ask students to use the app. In return for getting kids to sign up, teachers were rewarded with credit for their mobile network. Parents interviewed in the program complained about how their kids wouldn’t let go of their smartphones after they finished their homework.

In January, authorities also ordered a study app named Namibox to change, saying that it provided content that “induces minors to imitate and act against public morality.” Earlier in 2017, leading homework app Xiaoyuan Souti reportedly had lots of inappropriate content, although the app argued it was framed by a competitor.