Video Games: Rated D for Deadly

Raiding is exhausting.

We all know the person who sits in his/her parents' basement playing video games all Friday night, or even every day. The sad truth is that these occurrences are not just a social faux pas, but can also have devastating effects on the person's health and mind.

However it may surprise you that video game addiction can have a deadly effect. In July 2012, a young man by the name of Zhuang Zhengfeng died after playing a video game, Diablo 3, for 40 hours straight without eating or moving. While sitting and playing video games can be unhealthy enough, pulmonary embolisms can occur when the stationary period is extreme leading to death. A sedentary lifestyle is, however, not the only worry for video gamers who may be addicted.

Daniel Petric murdered both of his parents after they took away Halo 3. It is believed that he was suffering from withdrawal and did not understand the consequences of his actions. This leads further credence to the idea that video game addiction is as real and as dangerous as any other addiction. Youth today should limit their reliance on video games, and seek a balance between reality and virtual reality.