12-year-old boy found dead after fight over PUBG Mobile

According to reports in various media portals, the 12-year used to play the game with a 17-year-old whom he met online. The duo met in person to play the game as the deceased felt that the 17-year-old was cheating and that's why he used to win every game.

When the duo met to play in person on Sunday night, the 17-year lost and they had a fight. The accused told police that the deceased first pushed him and threw a stone at him to which he retaliated by throwing an even bigger stone.

The 12-year-old collapsed and started bleeding due to this. As he could not figure out what to do, the 17-year-old dragged the deceased to the side of the road and went home. This terrible and scary incident just raises one simple question, "Is gaming addiction hampering the mental health of children?"

This question can easily be discarded as rubbish by quoting a couple of studies conducted by the Oxford Institute of Internet Research.

A study conducted in November 2020 had revealed that gaming is positively related to well-being i.e. those who indulge in video gaming tend to stay happier than those who do not. Yet another study by the Oxford Institute of Internet Research which was conducted in February 2019 had concluded that violent video games are in no way related to adolescent aggression.

Yes, the game did play a role somewhere in the death of the 12-year-old. But, it is quite immature to blame the game for death. Instead, the fingers should be pointed towards the addiction. Being addicted to something has not done any good for anyone.

Besides, the question should be, 'How are people in the country playing a game that was banned more than six months back?'

It is easy to blame a game for such an awful incident, but it is imperative to look beyond that. Gaming has always been a stigma in India and incidents such as these is just tainting it further.