Mumbai: The latest trend that has taken youngsters across the globe by storm is the game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, better known by the acronym PUBG. First released in December 2017, in a video game format, PUBG was a huge hit among youngsters all around the world. Soon a free mobile phone version of the game was released in March, which further strengthened its grip on young minds. School and college students have been hooked to this game ever since. The game can be played in a group, regardless of whether the group is present together physically.
In this game, players parachute to a remote island for a winner-takes-all showdown. The players have to locate and scavenge their own weapons, vehicles and supplies, following which they have to defeat every player in a graphically and tactically rich battleground, with a lethal arsenal of firearms, melee weapons, and throwables with realistic ballistics and travel trajectories that give you the option to shoot, beat down, or incinerate your adversaries. This trending game, however, appears to have triggered criminal instincts in youngsters.
In a recent instance, two teenaged brothers stabbed two of their friends on March 11 in Kurla’s Nehru Nagar area over a trivial misunderstanding. Their group used to play PUBG, during which they got into an argument and matters escalated suspect police. In another such incident in the city, a man knifed his sister’s fiance over a dispute, in Kalyan (E) on February 7. Police said the accused, Rajnish Rajbhar, 27, was playing PUBG, when the charge of his mobile drained. He frantically began to look for a charger, but found its wire cut.
He suspected his sister of damaging the cord and accused her but she denied doing so. When her fiance Om Bavdankar too protested, Rajbhar pulled a knife on Bavdankar, injuring him. The game does not just instigate players to harm others, but to cause harm to oneself as well. On February 2, an 18-year-old boy allegedly hanged himself after an argument with his family members over buying a new mobile phone to play PUBG. The teenager, a resident of Kurla’s Nehru Nagar, took the extreme step after being denied a smartphone costing around Rs. 37,000.
After several similar instances, involving PUBG, multiple cities in India have banned it. The National Child Rights Commission has also recommended barring the game for its violent nature. Reacting to the demand for a ban on the game, PUBG Mobile issued a statement, which read, “PUBG Mobile is a game. It is meant merely for entertainment and should be enjoyed in a healthy and responsible manner. We are working on the introduction of a healthy gameplay system in India to promote balanced, responsible gaming, including limiting play time for under-aged players.”
Child psychologists in the city, however, beg to differ with the views of gaming team. Dr Ali Gabrani, child psychologist with the Masina Hospital feels such violent games can blur the line between right and wrong for a child. He said, “PUBG is a highly addictive game, mostly because of the violence in it. Kids are very vulnerable and may repeat the actions that they see while playing the game.”
Most parents are unaware that their children are addicted to PUBG and other games, claimed a psychologist. Excessive gaming also tends to result in increased aggressive behaviour, poor academic performance, sleep difficulties, feelings of loneliness and other serious emotional and behavioural problems among children and adults, said another city-based psychologist.
