Meddling granny 'patrols' Internet cafés to stop young gamers

A granny in southwest China has been labelled a "busybody" after volunteering to patrol Internet cafés in order to dissuade youngsters from playing online games for too long.

But the negative comments online haven't dissuaded the woman, who said she believes keeping minors away from Internet cafés is good for them, thepaper.cn reported.

Jiang Yongxiu, 66, lives in Changchun Community in Yibin, Sichuan Province. After she retired in 2005, she joined the local residents' committee as a volunteer, often taking part in service activities caring for children.

In 2013, she offered to be a member of the newly established Internet café supervision team and since then has insisted on patrolling the cafés in her community every day.

"I will encourage minors to go home if I find anyone playing games online," Jiang said. "I won't stop children who are studying there, but most of them are not."

Jiang thinks too much Internet usage is a serious situation that needs to be dealt with. "Addiction to the Internet will have a bad influence on children's physical and mental health," she said, adding that she thinks young children don't yet know fully about "self-protection and self-control."

Yin Guanghui is one of the owners of an Internet cafés that Jiang patrols. He was initially annoyed at her behavior as she chased away his customers, but he soon began to support her work and admire her after understanding her intentions.

However, there are still café owners who argue with her or even close their doors when they see her approaching. Jiang strives to always patiently communicate with them, telling them her point of view.

Her family members also expressed their support of her work.

Jiang's partner in the supervision team passed away last year, but she said she will keep on with this campaign as long as she can. 

“I will try my best to help children grow up healthily.”