Gaming Addiction

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/10/17/48hours/main525965.shtml

Danger’s of Gaming Addiction

Shawn Woolley was a 21 year old man who struggled with learning disabilities and significant emotional problems. His mother was extremely proud of him because he had managed to move out of her house and get himself a job, his mother tried her best to make sure everything was working for him, yet it was not enough.

On Thanksgiving 2001 Shawn was found dead sitting at his computer, he had shot himself in the head. His mother is convinced it was all down to a computer game he played called “Everquest”.

“That damn game. He shot himself because of the game”

Says his mother, Liz, she continues to blame Sony for creating such an addictive game. She admits he might have had other problems, yet she is adamant that the game was what pushed him over the edge.

Susan Spencer reports.

“He couldn’t stay off it. That’s how strong that game is. You can’t just get up and walk away,” she says. In the end, she says, the game became his life.

Then when Susan said to Shawn that the people in the computer game weren’t real, it was like she had betrayed him, that he wasn’t angry but hurt that such a thing could be said.

Sony online CEO says it is impossible to come to a conclusion that a video game cause a 21 yr old man to commit suicide. Sony CEO continued to say

It’s entertainment. Is a book dangerous? Is a TV show dangerous? I think the answer is no. People need to take responsibility and say, ‘Hey, you know, this is too much. Enough’s enough.’ It’s a game.”

Liz, his mother still is convinced it is a dangerous game and wants to sue Sony or at least she wants Sony to include a warning label, saying that “Everquest” is a risk to some people. Sony CEO cannot ignore anymore that “Everquest” is a danger to some of the population. There has been a website established called “Everquest Widows” were people who feel they have lost their partners to the game.

Sony hasn’t gone as far as to put a label on the games cover, yet after the interview he had an alarm clock feature installed which allows for the players to set their own limits.