While we don’t agree with video games being a cause of violence in teens, video game addiction is a different story. Video game addiction is real and is often linked to depression and anxiety. A recent incident of gaming addiction has us in shock as it is probably one of a kind due to the age of the child involved.
A 9-year old girl in the United Kingdom is addicted to Epic Games’ Fortnite. Her addiction got to the point where she wets herself playing Fortnite, refusing to go to the bathroom. Due to her extreme addiction to the game, her parents had to send her to rehab. Yes, a 9-year old girl is sent to rehab for gaming addiction.
The responsibility ultimately lands on the parents for letting their child spend so much time in the game. She was playing the game on an Xbox One and whenever her father, Richard, tried to take away the console, she would slap him in the face. She went as far as secretly waking up in the night to play the game. She would often doze off in class due to her late night gaming. According to her mother Carol:
We had no idea when we let her play the game, of the addictive nature or the impact it could have on her mental health.
She is in therapy for the addiction after she became withdrawn, agitated and disturbed from playing up to ten hours a day – sometimes playing until dawn, wetting herself so she didn’t have to leave the screen.
This is a serious issue which is destroying our little girl’s life and someone needs to step in to ban it before it becomes an epidemic.
Fortnite is the most popular battle royale game in the world and has been endorsed by A-list celebs. As fun as it may be to play, parents need to keep an eye on the time these kids are spending in front of the screen.
Source: Mirror
