In an unfortunate incident, a 16-year-old student in Hyderabad reportedly commited suicide after being scolded for playing PUBG Mobile for too long. According to a report by the Times of India, the student, Kallakuri Sambashiva killed himself after his mother scolded him for playing the game instead of studying.
The report notes that the student’s father lodged a complaint with the police in which he mentions “Sambashiva used to play video game on phone and my wife Umadevi warned him not to play the game on Monday night. My son got angry and committed suicide by hanging in his bedroom.”
This isn’t the first death that has been attributed to the hugely popular mobile game. The addictiveness of the game is subject of much debate and some have called for a ban on the game. Certain places in the country had temporarily banned the game, leading to some arrests. Even the game developers have come forward to try and control its player base. The game recently started restricting players to 6 hours a day, while giving them a ‘Health Reminder.” However, the developers later said that there was an error with players reportedly being stopped from playing even though they only played for a few minutes.
While gaming addiction has been noted as a legitimate disorder by the World Health Organisation, it’s imperative that gamers themselves take stock of the time they spend gaming and if it is negatively impacting their lives. Players should also remember that there is no game or object in the world that is worth their lives.