internet gaming addiction leads to baby's death

[Glorious]

How incredibly sad and ironic that their own child died while they were 'raising' one online?

Our gaming happens in our home about 98% of the time our children are asleep - but as anyone in our guild knows if our kids need us then boom we are gone...

[Kepli_Moonshadow]

If it's not something you can do in church, you're going to heck for it. lolz.....like back in the 70's and 80's no kid ever died be cause their coked-out mom was too busy geeked out watching soaps.

[tomfar72]

I believe you are confusing addiction and physical dependence. Not everything which is addicting causes physical dependence, and not everything that one is physically dependent on is addicting. For example, a diabetic is physically dependent on insulin, but obviously not an insulin addict. Likewise, gambling causes a certain percentage of the population to throw away everything in their life to feed their addiction, yet has no physical withdrawal symptoms.

Addiction is more about rewarding the dopamine centers of the brain to create a repeating pattern of behavior that overrides all other behavior, sometimes to the point where people don't even sleep or eat, which has happened in a few cases where people have died playing video games by neglecting basic bodily functions. Physical dependence is just an extra F.U. that makes it particularly difficult to quit drug addictions.

Does that mean these parents were not responsible for their actions? Of course they were, and they should be sent to jail. Addiction has never been an excuse to break the law, much less leave a child to die of neglect. But at the same time, this still most likely wouldn't have happened had the couple not been addicted to online gaming.

I understand what you are saying, but I don't believe I'm confusing anything. I understand that there is a difference between physical dependence and addiction, but I don't think the difference is as big as you make it out to be. Granted, someone with diabetes is certainly not an insulin addict. Taking any medication as prescribed by a doctor to help you is not an addiction. The key phrase in that sentence is "as prescribed by a doctor." One of the biggest addictions in this country (USA) id the addiction to prescription pain killers. Is oxycontin in and of itself a bad thing? Of course not, when used in the doses prescribed by a doctor. However, in the hands of someone using it in a way other than prescribed (taking way more than intended, taking it just because you like the feeling) is bad, and can become a chemical and physical addiction.

A gaming "addiction" is no more than a poor choice of priorities. As someone else said, "Did the parents themselves starve? Did they lose their jobs? Did they lose their home?" The answer is no because they prioritized these things above their gaming, and apparently above the life of their child. These are the CHOICES they made. As far as the people who have died playing games for long periods of time, yes, they had a serious problem, but no, I don't think that is an addiction either. They had a problem with reality. Thinking you are invulnerable doesn't make you so. Every animal on the planet has a sense of self preservation. Some make choices contrary to that, but that doesn't make it an addiction, it makes it a poor choice.

They say anything can become a habit if you do it 14 days in a row. Alot of people like to check their email first thing in the morning. It's a habit. It's part of the routine. It makes them happy. It is a repeating pattern of behavior. It is not an addiction. I'm sure alot of teenage boys come home from school and lock themselves in the bathroom. This is their routine, they are not whackoholics.

[Kalari]

While a sad story Im with the others, as a parent and a gamer I know where my priorities lie. My family will always come first and anyone who cannot do such does not in my opinion have any right to be raising children. Sure gaming may still be seen by some as for younger folks or those who refuse to accept responsibility. But I think ddo alone with the player base age and professions and family status can show that many people with family can have their hobbies and still be responsible parents and that irresponsible people no matter if they are gamers or not will cause such harm to innocents.

It is a shame a young life is lost to neglect but to blame a gaming addiction is just another way for people to shift blame to a "issue" instead of the people who did this.

[ArloOne]

I wonder if someone asked for there virtual childs stuff, until after their incarceration!

[Wizard1406]

why have a kid, if you know you are lazy and egoistic? makes no sense to me
poor baby :-((

And I agree , online games are not at fault for this...drugs, alcohol, etc. any kind of addiction and neglect can cause child death

For example you also hear stuff like this the news:
"young mother visits her boyfriend out of town for 3 days (!), her 2 and 3 year old kids at home dehydrate and die in the meantime"
"teenage mother goes partying all weekend, her baby dies of malnutrition"

[LazarusPossum]

Don't forget to blame Heavy Metal. We metal heads are to blame for everything in the world.

There was a time when I was a kid that it was Dungeons & Dragons that was the problem. ROFL




Definitely not trying to drag the OP down, but that thread title seems to read like the kid died from an internet addiction. That would be an eye-opener.

[Oreg]

The real reason it's on the news is because it's newsworthy. Just like the guy in Korea who died after playing for 36 hours straight 4-5 years ago.

I actually think it's useful as a cautionary tale, as I often wonder how some of the kids of internet gaming addicts suffer, and how many near misses there really are out there.

My point was that the media twisted it to infer that they blamed it on gaming not that it was or was not newsworthy.

[vettkinn]

So, um, did somebody get their stuff already? Can I have it?

[GeneralDiomedes]

My point was that the media twisted it to infer that they blamed it on gaming not that it was or was not newsworthy.

I read the article .. I couldn't see how the writer was trying to twist anything. A person's child died of malnutrition. The fact they were 10 hour a day online gaming addicts is relevant information. The reporter also mentioned that the mother admitted she knew nothing about child nutrition which is also relevant information.

Maybe the world is complex enough that incidents have more than 1 contributing factor?

The reporter also included 2 more pieces of relevant background information.

1. Online gaming addiction is a recognized problem in Korea (the media isn't making it up I swear!)
2. Korean law holds drunkenness as a mitigating factor in sentencing, meaning that this case could have importance