Gaming Addiction is a Serious Problem

A recent report on www.thefix.com highlighted the growth in gaming addiction in Asia. What is driving this trend? With an estimated 84 million of the world’s 1.2 billion gamers living in Asia, there is an immense population of gamers whose hobby has become an addiction.

There isn’t an official figure, but with estimates of between 2 and 25 percent of those who play games being addicts, it is potentially huge. This problem most often affects high school and university students, who play games as a diversion to school life. But what starts as a hobby can have negative consequences on school, work, health, and relationships. And in extreme cases, it can even result in violence and fatality, as recent headlines have publicized.

One of the more shocking headlines include a gamer poisoning his parents for placing a curfew on his gaming. This resulted in their death. In another case, a married couple left their 3 month old daughter to die while they played online games. While the couple played online with their own simulated children, their real life child died of dehydration. Finally, in another tragic turn, there are reports of homicide and violence committed as revenge for the murder of a player’s online identity. This is due to players’ immense emotional attachment to their online persona, who they may have spent years creating.