Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Four years after announcement, Madhya Pradesh government is yet to enact a law to regulate online mobile gaming. In January 2022, the then Home Minister Narottam Mishra had announced plans to bring such legislation following suicide of an 11-year-old boy in Bhopal while playing online game Free Fire.
Since then, state has witnessed a series of suicides involving children addicted to online gaming. On February 3 this year, 14-year-old AnshSahu died by suicide in Piplani area of city. Family members said he was heavily addicted to Free Fire and had spent Rs 28,000 from his grandfather’s bank account on in-game purchases.
In August this year, a 13-year-old student ended his life in Indore after losing Rs 2,800 in an online battle game. Earlier, in July 2021, a Class 6 student died by suicide in Chhatapur after losing Rs 40,000 while playing Free Fire. He left behind a suicide note apologising for financial loss incurred from his mother’s account.
The recent suicide of three sisters in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, has once again highlighted growing menace of children getting addicted to online games, stealing money from parents to make purchases and taking extreme steps when caught or when mobile phones are confiscated.
Experts warn that unless controlled, addiction to online gaming may soon take epidemic proportions. They stress that parents must understand mobile phones are not harmless devices to be handed over to children without supervision.
“The internet has made the world one, and no individual government can ban anything. Bans don’t work because games can be accessed through proxies,” said consultant psychiatrist DrSatyakant Trivedi. He said that making Digital Wellbeing part of school syllabi could be one of the solutions. “From Classes 1 to 12, there should be a chapter on digital wellbeing,” he said.
What triggers suicides
Children use parents’ or grandparents’ bank accounts without permission to buy virtual upgrades, leading to fear of punishment when discovered
Games use psychological manipulation to push children into completing dangerous tasks
Failure to buy upgrades due to lack of money
Withdrawal symptoms when mobile phone is confiscated
Warning signals
Sudden withdrawal and isolation from family
Decline in academic performance and loss of interest in sports or hobbies
Secrecy around mobile phone use and late-night gaming
Unexplained deductions from bank accounts
