Teenager Kills Mother, Commits Suicide Over Gaming Argument

[Red Albatross]

A 15-year-old Korean boy killed his mother and then committed suicide because he is mentally ill.

Fixed that one. Could have been an argument about anything.

 

[ResiEvalJohn]

As someone who actually lives and teaches in Korea, I've got to say that I'm not that surprised. IMO, It's Korean society's fault for making kids want to escape from reality all the time since they're expected to study 24 hours a day, everyday. American kids don't realize how lucky they are.

However, if there's one thing that I love about a country where over half of the native males are computer addicts - On weekends, while they're playing Starcraft or WOW, I'm in their bars, picking up all their women, and I do love Korean women

 

[ResiEvalJohn]

Isn't corporal punishment still widely used in schools in South Korea? Forget the games, I blame the system!

I am not a racist but Koreans should not be allowed to play video games.

Why? Do they keep beating you at Starcraft?

Yes! They do goddammit, They DO!!!

 

[Shale_Dirk]

If I lived in a part of the world where ignorant parents decided that it would be a good idea to ship me off to a camp where I get beaten, deprived of food, and psychologically tormented because I play video games, I might also have a fairly strong reaction to my parents threatening to send me there.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/93639-Chinese-Teen-Beaten-to-Death-at-Internet-Addiction-Camp
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/103983-Second-Chinese-Teen-Killed-in-Internet-Rehab

I know, Korea != China. These camps exist regardless.

Unfortunately, because these camps exist, I can justify the kid trying to explain to his mother that she can't send him there because of the terrible things they do, and then when she stands her ground out of ignorance or conviction, him reacting out of a sort of triggered defense mechanism. Obviously I'm putting a story where there might not be any justification whatsoever, but these kinds of arguments happen out there in one form or another.

Either way, sad story, sad outcome, unfortunate press for my favourite medium.

 

[qbanknight]

What a fucking asshole

 

[Tanzka]

"I was scolded for game playing and did what I shouldn't have done to my mother," it read. "I am sorry."

The police apparently suspect that the boy committed suicide because he felt guilty about murdering his own mother

Ace detectives working this case.

-m

I don't know, me may need to call in Professor Layton.

OT: Well, this sounds like a problem with the kid rather then the games. If he was willing to kill his mother over games, he has a problem.

Unless there's some other domestic issue that I'm not aware of, but that would also have very little, if anything, to do with games.

Nah, we need the Hardly Boys.

Sorry, all joking aside; A sad story, but unfortunately it has little to do with games but try explaining that to the media..

 

[OldAccount]

Sounds like a fucked up family. I doubt video games have anything to do with the root cause.

 

[Dfskelleton]

Great. Just what we need. Mor Controversy. This is sad, but this is going to cause more controversy. Jack Thompson is probably going to come up with some long speel about this now. Why is he so mean to games?! He's in one, you know:

 

[Godhead]

"I was scolded for game playing and did what I shouldn't have done to my mother," it read. "I am sorry."

The police apparently suspect that the boy committed suicide because he felt guilty about murdering his own mother

Ace detectives working this case.

-m

I think this case is for, *takes off shades* The Hardley Boys

 

[GrizzlerBorno]

would a good 20% of South Korea's population die off if internet and games were irrefutably 'banned' overnight? I'm sorry, i know that sounds terrible....but it's a legit question.

 

[Okysho]

You know quite frankly, I have to disagree with you guys on this. There are times when video games are to blame. Of course the video game didn't mentally turn him into a murderer. It did however make him addicted to it to the point where he murdered his own mother over the thought that she'd take it away from him. It, quite literally, can be compared to a drug in that regard.

Of course this is only a rare case and seems to be unique to places where addiction in this form is unusually common (like South Korea). The rest of the times video games are involved in murders are because the murderers are psychotic, mentally fractured, or just plain aholes. Like the guys who murdered their "friend" because he somehow cheated at Madden. There's no explaining that.

This murder here though can, sadly, be attributed to too much gaming.

(Emphasis mine.)

These two portions where I've bolded your quote are where I take issue with what you're saying. The video game is not "to blame." It did not act to cause anything, in the same way that cocaine does not leap into the noses of unsuspecting passers-by and make them shoot cops or something.

It did not "make him addicted." He became addicted to it. You can become addicted to anything, because addiction is a mental construct surrounding a physical habit. Even drug addiction itself is a mental construct (the physical and chemical component of the 'addiction' is withdrawal, but that only comes into play after the person has become a habitual user).

What's to blame here is an unbalanced kid with emotional issues, which lead to an addictive personality. If not for games, his addiction would have found another subject, because the addiction is his, not the game's. This sort of psychological "tick" that leads to addictions like this is present before it takes any form. It just so happens that this mental problem chose to express itself via the subject of games.

Games themselves, by virtue of content, did not contribute in any way to this situation, other than being enjoyable enough for the kid to allow himself to become addicted. This would be like saying Twinkies cause addiction by being too damned delicious. It's ludicrous. Without them, the person would simply have become addicted to the next-most-delicious thing, because that's the sort of personality (disorder) they have.

I agree with both of these to an extent. and I think out of all the posts I've read thus far, these two will explain the issue the best. It's true, we can say that the addiction is the real problem, but just like saying "drugs are bad" it's the video games that are on the end of the addiction stick here and out of all the big issues we've seen so far, especially here on the Escapist, this one is the most directly related to video games, just like people will blame drugs if a crackhead went and murdered someone, I think we all have to own up to it and say that even though it's correct that "addiction is the real enemy" Video games are the direct link between them.

It's a really sad story...

 

[Okysho]

would a good 20% of South Korea's population die off if internet and games were irrefutably 'banned' overnight? I'm sorry, i know that sounds terrible....but it's a legit question.

You mean like how there'd be somewhere over 30 000 suicides worldwide if the facebook servers crashed... like permanentl ?

 

[GrizzlerBorno]

You mean like how there'd be somewhere over 30 000 suicides worldwide if the facebook servers crashed... like permanentl ?

I wouldn't be one of them so i don't give a shit!

 

[Turbo_Destructor]

Not a nice event. I hope that before the videogames-cause-violence advocates use this as political ammunition, they stop to think that this kid was already quite probably a messed up kid with an extremely strong mental addiction, that the video games were perhaps a catalyst, but not the only one, and that the violence in the games he played was most likely irrelevant.

 

[badgersprite]

I don't think you need to be a psychologist to work out that that progression of actions is a sign of a severe undiagnosed mental condition. Sad, too. That's the sort of age when stuff like this develops, so they may not have had a chance to recognise signs of mental illness. Maybe if his problem had been identified and treated, this could have been prevented.

 

[Nikolaz72]

Cue Fox News in three... two... one...

Seriously, why the heck does this crap keep happening?

Hey this is South Korea's problem, not the United States'.

The United States has obesity, South Korea has internet addiction. They are quite different. Of course it wouldn't be hard to spin this into a way in which to target the game industry in the U.S.

And Matt you better be careful when talking about those ace detectives. They already used their ace detective skills to determine that you work with Loading Ready Run. They even know about your involvement in the clandestine news program ENN. You should go into hiding. Pick somewhere scenic.

Well technically they do play the same games. Unless Dating sims was the cause of brutal murder, in that case we should be preeetty safe.

 

[The Rockerfly]

Oh well, 2 losses of about 6.5 billion people is nothing

 

[Choppaduel]

tragic.

hopefully the frequency of this kind of thing happening doesn't increase

 

[Choppaduel]

Oh well, 2 losses of about 6.5 billion people is nothing

and while you were typing that 20 more were born.

 

[The Rockerfly]

Oh well, 2 losses of about 6.5 billion people is nothing

and while you were typing that 20 more were born.

Exactly, it's meaningless. None of us knew either of them so what does it matter?