Addiction to "games" and serious consequences

(Baonghean.vn)- Although still in school, many students have indulged in virtual games on the internet (online games), leading to heartbreaking consequences for their families and society. In many cases, due to obsession with games, they have become murderers or died of unknown causes.

From “Gamer” to Criminal

In recent days, the story of male student Pham Duc Chuan (16 years old), residing in Hamlet 7, Thanh Long Commune, currently a 10E student at Dang Thuc Hua High School, Thanh Chuong District, who died unexpectedly after many days of leaving home to play games has attracted special attention and concern from the public, especially parents.

Mr. Tran Tri Tue, Chairman of Thanh Long Commune People's Committee, said: This male student is the second child in a family of 4 siblings, his parents are farmers, he has always been obedient, often participating in the commune's cultural activities, but recently he has shown signs of online game addiction, often leaving home to play games and coming home overnight. Teacher Nguyen Duy Long, Principal of Dang Thuc Hua High School, where Chuan is studying, also said that Chuan has shown signs of online game addiction, neglecting his studies, the homeroom teacher has reviewed and reported to the school's Board of Directors to coordinate education and help. Unexpectedly, the heartbreaking incident mentioned above happened.

The game shop is packed with students in Tan Ky town.

It was not until now, when the heartbreaking story of male student Pham Duc Chuan happened, that the hidden dangers and painful consequences related to students addicted to games were warned. Recently, in the province, there have been consecutive incidents related to students addicted to online games. In early November 2015, several schools in Tan Ky town and Giang Son Dong and Giang Son Tay communes, Do Luong district, had consecutive break-ins to steal property, causing panic and anxiety for the school and the people. After a long period of monitoring, the perpetrators of the above thefts fell into the net of the law.

It is worth mentioning that the 3 thieves in this case were all in school, aged 15 and 16. Due to their addiction to games, these subjects took advantage of the loopholes of security guards at schools in the area, from August to November 2015, successfully breaking into 7 schools, stealing 14 computer screens, 8 PCUs and many other items, with a total property value of about 60 million VND.

More seriously, due to the influence of scenes of violence and stabbings in the virtual world, many "gamers" have become murderers, taking the lives of their relatives to get money to spend. That is the heartbreaking story of male student Vuong Dinh Khanh (21 years old), residing in Hamlet 17, Nghi Phong Commune, (Nghi Loc), a former student of a College in Vinh City.

Because of being haunted by online games, on July 12, 2015, due to a conflict with his biological mother, Nguyen Thi V. (49 years old), Vuong Dinh Khanh used a rope to strangle his mother to death. Then he created a fake scene of a sudden death to fool the authorities. An investigator handling the case added that the process of taking Khanh's statement afterwards was very difficult, because the subject was severely addicted to games, so he showed signs of panic, lethargy and sometimes could not control himself due to being haunted by killing games in the "virtual world". Learning more, it was known that Vuong Dinh Khanh had to be treated at Nghe An Psychiatric Hospital for a long time due to paranoia caused by games.

Previously, in October 2013, Tran Ngoc Quan (16 years old), a 10th grade student at a high school in Thai Hoa town, also because of his game addiction, murdered his aunt-in-law, Ms. To Thi L. (55 years old) just to steal a pair of gold earrings.

What is the cause?

Currently, there are no statistics on the number of people addicted to games, but the rate of teenagers and students addicted to online games who have to go to treatment centers and hospitals is not small. The cause of this situation, according to the assessment of psychologist Dr. Le Thuc Anh, Lecturer of the Faculty of Education (Vinh University), is due to laxity and lack of supervision from the family, many parents are busy making money and neglect to manage their children. Meanwhile, on social networks, violent games are rampant, it is not difficult for students to access and from curiosity to online game addiction is a very short path because in reality, online game business has not really been tightened.

In addition, many high school students and university students are now living far from their families and living in rented accommodation without supervision, which is also a condition for them to easily indulge in virtual life on the Internet. A typical example is the case of university student Vinh Pham Xuan Q. (20 years old), from Thanh Chuong district. From a good student, after "getting into" online games, Q. went downhill rapidly, his academic performance seriously declined, he often missed school without reason, and in the first semester of his freshman year, Q. had to retake 5 subjects. More seriously, originally a cheerleader, Q. gradually became difficult, sullen, grumpy, liked to mumble to himself, wandered around and caused trouble for no reason to beat people, forcing his family to take him to Bach Mai Hospital (Hanoi) for treatment.

Online game shops are popping up everywhere in Vinh city.

According to Dr. Phan Kim Thin, Director of Nghe An Mental Hospital, the hospital has recently received a number of cases of students being hospitalized due to hallucinations caused by playing too many games, leading to uncontrolled behavior. The number of parents coming to the hospital for consultation to take care of their children's health with signs of abnormality is also increasing.

It can be said that online games themselves are not bad if players know how to control themselves and see them as a channel for entertainment and stress reduction. However, a large number of young people today are abusing online games to kill time, neglect their studies, and affect their future. Many cases even violate the law, becoming criminals for their families and society. This is truly a warning bell not only for them but also for their families and the whole society./.

HA THU