A man in China hired virtual ‘assassins’ to track down his son in online video games and kill off his avatar, as he was concerned about his son's gaming addiction, according to a media report.
The man, named by the Kotako East blog as Feng, was concerned about the amount of time his 23-year-old unemployed son was spending online.
He hoped his actions would deter his son from playing the games, BBC News reported. His son eventually asked one of the gamers why they kept targeting him.
The father and son are said to have reconciled but World of Warcraft expert Olivia Grace said she did not think Feng's actions would necessarily act as a deterrent. ‘Being killed by someone happens all the time. People are just like that online,’ she said.
‘It's not going to do much for family relations,’ Professor Mark Griffiths, a gambling and addictions expert at Nottingham Trent University told the BBC.
‘I've never heard of that kind of intervention before, but I don't think these top-down approaches work. Most excessive game playing is usually a symptom of an underlying problem,’ Griffiths said.
Griffiths said he heard from many parents who were worried about their children's gaming habits but often it was not an addiction.
The man, named by the Kotako East blog as Feng, was concerned about the amount of time his 23-year-old unemployed son was spending online.
He hoped his actions would deter his son from playing the games, BBC News reported. His son eventually asked one of the gamers why they kept targeting him.
The father and son are said to have reconciled but World of Warcraft expert Olivia Grace said she did not think Feng's actions would necessarily act as a deterrent. ‘Being killed by someone happens all the time. People are just like that online,’ she said.
‘It's not going to do much for family relations,’ Professor Mark Griffiths, a gambling and addictions expert at Nottingham Trent University told the BBC.
‘I've never heard of that kind of intervention before, but I don't think these top-down approaches work. Most excessive game playing is usually a symptom of an underlying problem,’ Griffiths said.
Griffiths said he heard from many parents who were worried about their children's gaming habits but often it was not an addiction.