Baby dies as parents raise virtual bub

Baby dies as parents raise virtual bub

www.news.com .au

A COUPLE addicted to computer games let their real baby starve to death while raising a virtual daughter online.

Police said the couple spent up to12 hours a day at internet cafes, leaving their three-month-old daughter home alone at their apartment in Suwon, South Korea.

Police said the couple became obsessed with living online and neglected their real lives

(visit the link for the full news article)

This is a sad story about a couple who got so involved in their virtual MMORPG (massive multi-player online role playing game) world and family that they neglected their own real life baby and let it dehydrate and die. Whether neglect is intentional or not doesn't make a difference.

This sort of gaming addiction isn't new to Koreans though, as there was a previous incident of a man dying after playing Starcraft for over 50 hours straight without eating or drinking.

I suppose I should be shocked, but frankly I'm not surprised.
People can get so caught up in virtual worlds that they don't bother with the real one. It will only get worse, too, as virtual worlds become more realistic and just as satisfying as the real one.

www.news.com .au
(visit the link for the full news article)

WTF! Seriously WTF?!?!

I know people who are hooked on internet gaming but that is very very sad.
Kid may as well have been born to junkies

Originally posted by EndOfWesternCivilization


Kid may as well have been born to junkies

Definition of junkie:
addict: someone who is so ardently devoted to something that it resembles an addiction.

I'd say the child was indeed born to junkies.

[edit on 5/3/10 by Nventual]

Absolutely unbelievable, you seriously can't make some of this stuff up!

Poor child, I don't care how addicted they were to online gaming allowing a real, living baby to starve to death is unforgivable.

I hope the pair get put in prison for a long time and theyre not allowed access to video games

Strange aswell because I've made a thread about addictions only today, check it out below:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

the lesson from this are: Don't Neglect your real life loved ones in favor of unreal virtual loved ones!

Originally posted by masonicon
the lesson from this are: Don't Neglect your real life loved ones in favor of unreal virtual loved ones!

I think the lesson is that people who are that retarded to let a baby starve to death while they played online games shouldn't be alive.

Why did they even bother having a child?

When did they find time to make one?

This is a very good argument for some kind of pre-test to determine if you are mentally able to raise children.



Peace

Originally posted by Nventual

Originally posted by EndOfWesternCivilization


Kid may as well have been born to junkies

Definition of junkie:
addict: someone who is so ardently devoted to something that it resembles an addiction.

I'd say the child was indeed born to junkies.

[edit on 5/3/10 by Nventual]

he meant smackheads, herion addicts

Hmm, while this is pretty horrible and there's absolutely no excuse for what they did, I don't think it would help to judge and condemn them (for those that are, which I'm betting a lot of MSM readers will do). I somewhat agree with what another user - CosmicEgg - has posted in the thread (made after this one) about the same article here

I'm actually a gamer myself, so I know what it's like to want to keep playing a game and to really enjoy it. But... at the same time, I wouldn't ever trade my real life for a virtual one! There's too much to do in real life, so many things I haven't done yet (being only 21) and my family and friends! I really think this is a case of "we all need to spend more time together as a community" sort of thing. A lot of people need to realise what is important in life and remember what is REAL.

I believe that if we're ever to sort out our problems here on Earth, we've got to work together and be more community-orientated. IMHO, to condemn these people would be counter-productive, I don't see how it would help at all. We've all got our issues and problems, none of us are perfect, after all "let him who is without sin cast the first stone", so to speak. I just really believe that time and energy would be better spent figuring out how and why this happened and not just look at the end result and judge that, ya know? We need to look at the causes and not the symptoms.

There are a lot of people hurting in this world and I just think there really needs to be more of an effort to include people, though in REAL life not games or over the internet. And also, it would be good to approach these kinds of things with understanding and a level head. Yes, this was pretty horrible, but don't let emotions get in the way and be quick to judge, because that's how mistakes are made and freedom is lost (if you know what I mean). We need to start sorting things out as people, together, so that we can all learn to work together and know that each of us matter and is needed, so we can finally at least start to make this world a better place, which will hopefully lead to these kind of things not happening.

"The couple seemed to have lost their will to live a normal life because they didn't have jobs and gave birth to a premature baby," Chung Jin-Won, a police officer, told Yonhap. "They indulged themselves in the online game of raising a virtual character so as to escape from reality, which led to the death of their real baby."

I just wonder why they didn't seek any help? Or if there was any help to seek. Psychiatrist or Psychologist? Family or friends???

Originally posted by masonicon
the lesson from this are: Don't Neglect your real life loved ones in favor of unreal virtual loved ones!

Exactly! Starred, because that is exactly what I believe is the problem.

IMHO, It's a shame we seem to be so connected with the internet and all, but in reality we really aren't

EDIT: grammar issues, and some stuff added that I forgot

[edit on 6/3/2010 by Sparkly_Eyed777]

Absolutely terrible!

I can't imagine someone doing that... yet here it is! I also cannot fathom what living with that kind of guilt for the rest of your life would be like. I hope this wakes these people up to the real world once and for all. What a tragedy for this child. What a complete waste of such innocent and beautiful life. My heart bleeds for the child.

IRM

MMOs are addictive and people should be made aware of this before they start playing. I play an MMO and I have been grouped with people that have kids. I laugh every time I see them make an excuse to attend to their kids while playing. I always tell them to take as long as they need because family/RL (real life) is more important than the game. There are even guilds (groups of players) that are called "Have Kids, will AFK" lol.

I guess it all seems funny until something tragic like this takes place. While the parents should definitely be held accountable, these games SHOULD come with warning labels on them - in all seriousness they can completely consume you and allow you to ignore your responsibilities in RL.

The labels will not stop these things altogether and parents still must take responsibility for their time allocation to the game. But I still believe it would do a lot of good to see warning labels encouraging regular breaks and limited time played. Also people with children and those who run businesses should be discouraged from playing.

[edit on 6/3/2010 by Dark Ghost]

Why am I having such a hard time believing this is true? something is not right, unless the parents were mentally disabled or severely mentally ill. I say severely so that it is not confused that I might mean depression or anxiety, even the most depressed person wouldn't do that to a newborn.

Originally posted by calstorm
Why am I having such a hard time believing this is true? something is not right, unless the parents were mentally disabled or severely mentally ill. I say severely so that it is not confused that I might mean depression or anxiety, even the most depressed person wouldn't do that to a newborn.

It is true and it is not the first time something like this has happened. People who don't play MMOs and aren't addicted do not understand that the addiction is very real. It is not something that is just thrown out there. People get completely consumed by the game and all the dynamics to it. It is an escape from reality and very enthralling. It interferes with RL and is very hard to stay away from.

There was also a Korean that died after playing 50+ hours straight a few years back. (He had no children and just collapsed after the marathon and died).

[edit on 6/3/2010 by Dark Ghost]

Existing thread here:
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Please add further comments to the ongoing discussion.
Thank you







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