When online gaming turns deadly
Cancan Chu/Getty Images News Think Internet games are just an innocuous, childish pastime? Think again. For one serious online gamer in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, it became a matter of life and death. The 30-year-old man dropped dead from exhaustion in a cyber cafe on Monday after an intense three-day gaming marathon. Unfortunately, ...
Cancan Chu/Getty Images News
Think Internet games are just an innocuous, childish pastime? Think again. For one serious online gamer in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, it became a matter of life and death. The 30-year-old man dropped dead from exhaustion in a cyber cafe on Monday after an intense three-day gaming marathon. Unfortunately, he isn’t the country’s first ill fated victim of online gaming. Earlier this year, a week of non-stop action claimed the life of an “obese young man” who couldn’t seem pull himself away from the computer screen to find time to sleep.
China is expected to overtake the United States in Internet users within the next few years, and many of those users will be of the hardcore variety. According to one report, as many as 14 percent of China’s estimated 20 million Internet users under the age of 18 could be classified as computer addicts. But we shouldn’t lose hope in this young generation quite yet. There’s always a trip to Internet-addiction boot camp.
More from Foreign Policy
Chinese Hospitals Are Housing Another Deadly Outbreak
Authorities are covering up the spread of antibiotic-resistant pneumonia.
Henry Kissinger, Colossus on the World Stage
The late statesman was a master of realpolitik—whom some regarded as a war criminal.
The West’s False Choice in Ukraine
The crossroads is not between war and compromise, but between victory and defeat.
The Masterminds
Washington wants to get tough on China, and the leaders of the House China Committee are in the driver’s seat.
Sign up for World Brief
FP’s flagship evening newsletter guiding you through the most important world stories of the day, written by Alexandra Sharp. Delivered weekdays.
By submitting your email, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time.