Two separate deaths were reported yesterday in India, and an addiction to playing PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) appears to be the culprit. One was a 16-year-old boy who died after playing PUBG nonstop for several days. The second was a 20-year-old man who hung himself after allegedly arguing with his family members over his PUBG addiction.
The teenager reportedly had been playing PUBG for several days straight, not taking any breaks to eat meals or drink water. He developed severe dehydration as a result. His family rushed him to the hospital when he became sick. The doctors attempted to operate on him to save his life, but he sadly passed away during the surgery.
Ganesh Sahu, the 20-year-old identified in the suicide, allegedly had an addiction to playing PUBG on his smartphone. At the time, was working at a prawn unit with his maternal uncle, Ramesh. Ramesh discovered that Ganesh was spending several hours playing PUBG instead of working, which prompted a few arguments. When Ramesh caught Ganesh playing the game at work, he scolded the youth, who stomped off to his aunt’s house. There he was greeted by family members who were attempting an intervention with Ganesh over his gaming addiction. His uncle took away his mobile phone and ordered him to go back to work at the prawn unit. It was there that Ganesh hung himself.
Another PUBG addiction death occurred in India in January, when a 25-year-old man suffered a brain stroke due to excessive mobile gameplay. He complained of not being able to move his right arm and leg while playing and was consequently rushed to a local hospital. The doctors diagnosed it as an intracerebral hemorrhage, and he sadly passed away moments afterward.
Fighting Gaming Addiction
Any game, online or not, can become addictive. The highest rates of gaming addiction are usually in teenagers and young adults in low 20s. When China experienced a spike in gaming addiction deaths, the government enforced game time restrictions, especially for young gamers. After three deaths in one year for India, they may look to implement similar measures.
