Young Man Dies After a Marathon Week of Online Gaming
Who's Really to Blame?
Has online gaming claimed another victim? Reports from MSNBC say an obese 26-year old man from northeaster China collapsed and died Saturday after a seven day holiday video game binge session.
Reports say that the 330-pound man from Jinzhou, in Liaoning province, collapsed on Saturday, the last day of the Lunar New Year holiday, after spending "almost all" of the seven-day break playing online games, the China Daily said, citing his parents. Reports state that his parents found the young man already dead, whom they believed to have been playing online games the entire seven-day holiday.
In China, where the number of online gamers is higher than any other country, it is no surprise that so many people spend their holidays binging on their favorite games. Xu Yan, a local teacher, was interviewed regarding the incident and admits that it is common practice for young adults to play computer games to avoid boredom during the holiday.
"There are only two options; TV or computer. What else can I do in the holiday as all markets, KTV and cafeterias are shut down?" Xu was quoted as saying. With all the local stores, shops and businesses closed for the holidays, there is little left for young people to do for entertainment. Combine this with the proliferation of computers and gaming in China and there are an increasing number of teenagers and young adults playing for long periods of time. In fact, this is common practice for many young adults not only in China but across the globe.
However, this is a problem that China is all-too familiar with. China has reported a rise in the number of teenage and young adult Internet addicts over the past few years and has made attempts to restrict or limit minors from using internet cafes and playing online games perhaps in the hopes of reducing the numbers of stories such as this one.
China reports 20 million internet users under the age of 18 and 2.6 million (13%) of those are considered to be classified as addicts. However, has internet addiction or online gaming addiction really caused this death as the headlines would lead you to believe? Certainly "gaming" was not the actual cause of death, although habitual gaming could have contributed to his obesity. So what did kill this young man?
This story has become world-wide news but reports do not say much more about the story - at least not at this time. The overweight gamer's official cause of death has not been released at this time.
Information for this article cited from:
Online addict dies after 'marathon' session
Spent 'almost all' of seven-day holiday break playing online games
Published by Lisa Mason
Lisa Mason is a freelance writer and social media marketer with more than 10 years of experience. As VP of Special Media for Social Media Sun, she makes sure that readers have access to the most relevant and... View profile
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8 Comments
Post a CommentThis is about more than the game - it's about his physical condition and his mental health. It can't all be boiled down to his gaming addiction. It's all connected.
heck, many games today even REMIND you in-game to take a break, like Guild Wars' "You've been playing for 2 hours, please take a break" lol you get the reminder every hour that you play.
Another one??? Jeeez...five minute breaks, people....take 5 minutes away from the screen and eat a sandwich...heck use the bathroom if you must. Anyway, nice article.
Very good ideas, Sarah - I agree
Wow... that's crazy! I think the government shouldn't waste their efforts and money on regulating internet, but instead offer other activites for young people to engage in during holidays! Maybe they should open some skate parks or have a festival or something???
Great article!
An overweight Asian? That cant be right....
On the day a big/popular game releases, many workers in China call in "sick". Businesses report some of the highest absentees immediately after a new game is released. And I also, would like to know what his real cause of death was. All I can find is that he "collapsed".
I had no idea China had the highest number of online gamers. I always assumed it was the U.S. Wonder if they really will release the autopsy results? Not too much info gets out of that country.