Thread: Children's Internet Addiction?

I'm sure it's just as 'addictive' as television and gaming. As for if it's the reason these kids killed themselves, I doubt it. I know tantrums have been thrown over loss of gaming privileges, but never a suicide. I bet the parents were more mentally abusive than they let on to detectives. Coming from a rich family ("well taken care of") has nothing to do with mental health, so it's rather irrelevant to a suicide case.

Well, they were able to leave the house apparently, so I would assume they could've gotten access to another computer if they were that addicted.

I would think there was probably something else going on there.

It seems to easy to just qualify this specific case as addiction to the internet. I just can't fathom anyone being held away from an addiction to just off themselves, especially when the source will be available again after the restrictions were lifted. However I could be wrong as its more or less a gut feeling. Like another poster said, there must be something else going on here.

Often times, internet addiction manifests itself in ways that exacerbate an already underlying illness. For example, a pedophile would naturally get hooked on kiddie porn and a person with an addictive behavior such as gambling will hang out on betting sites. Children with attachment issues... well.. I dunno, I'm no shrink. Poor kids.

Originally Posted by Charles Stover

I'm sure it's just as 'addictive' as television and gaming. As for if it's the reason these kids killed themselves, I doubt it. I know tantrums have been thrown over loss of gaming privileges, but never a suicide. I bet the parents were more mentally abusive than they let on to detectives. Coming from a rich family ("well taken care of") has nothing to do with mental health, so it's rather irrelevant to a suicide case.

We had a 12 year old boy brought into our ER last fall who attempted suicide because his parents canceled his gaming accounts and restricted his internet access. Fortunately he didn't succeed. The internet is a powerful attraction for young minds.

Originally Posted by Bourne

We had a 12 year old boy brought into our ER last fall who attempted suicide because his parents canceled his gaming accounts and restricted his internet access. Fortunately he didn't succeed. The internet is a powerful attraction for young minds.

I'd consider myself an Internet addict. That's probably unquestionable. I wouldn't kill myself over it. I'd think that 12 year old also had something else going on. An addiction to something like the Internet doesn't decrease the worthwhile of living outside of that something. I doubt that child couldn't find solace in television, going outside, reading a book, playing with toys, or some other activity. The question is why the child thought that there was nothing else, and that generally is a result of the parents.

Originally Posted by Chief

... because that 12 year old boy is transformed into a powerful warrior or wizard, with amazing powers, having adventures in an amazing world. Add to this the advancements of graphics, and technology... and I am not at all surprised to see this happening. Even adults get so hooked they ruin their careers, their marriages, etc...

I am thinking that I don't want my kids gaming online at all, but I'm not sure I can prevent it.... and not even sure if I should.

World of Warcraft is powerful. If I had to say any one thing on a computer was capable of causing an addiction-related suicide, it would probably be that (even though it'd be a large stretch); not that I've heard of it happening, but because the addiction to it is so abundant.