Another death blamed on games

[Verlander]

Apprently they hacked his phone to work that one out

 

[teh_Canape]

Are they sure it was games that killed him? I think it was the chair!

oh this brings me back memories of that news piece talking about an asian dude whose office chair exploded and impaled the support bar into his ass

had me paranoid for weeks XD

 

[Wushu Panda]

This is nothing new. It's not even tragic. Looking at the guy I could tell you he looks completely unhealthy, if he died sitting in a chair for 12 hours then its his own damn fault and Darwinism strikes again. I love video games but it's a rare occasion I will sit and play them for hours upon hours without moving. Even when friends and myself want to beat a campaign overnight we take breaks and stretch because it's common sense.

Video games shouldn't be blamed here, it's the idiots responsible for letting the guy do that in the first place.

 

[Aprilgold]

For all it's worth, I think it's important to note that there is a message in here for people to take away before saying "I play video games 12 hours a day and I'm still alive!" It is a life style that can lead to serious health risks, even if you haven't experienced them yet. There's a reason so many games tell you to take a break after an hour or two.

True, this could have happened had he spent the 12 hours sitting doing something else, but it doesn't EXCLUDE gaming, especially since it's very popular and people often don't see the harm in in. If you're at work, on a plane, reading a book, or just sitting in front of the TV, get up and stretch every now and again.

My sympathies to the family, and props to the dad for not blaming video games, but rather the abuse of playing them. I think it is important to raise awareness about cases like this so we don't see it happen more often.

Heres the irony, the tag line says "X-BOX KILLS!" When in reality it was his lifestyle or it was his chair that killed, no game or job ever tells you to GET UP AND STRETCH, the only game that every has was Metal Gear 4. And this is Darwisinism at its finest, if we humans were free of addiction, we would praticually be gods at this point in our lives. Seriously, if this were a apidemic, then I would understand trying to raise awareness for something like this, but it is not, there fore, it should be understood that if your addicted to something for too long, YOU WILL DIE! Its just repeating the phrase, ADDICTION KILLS!

 

[Rumarue]

Heres the irony, the tag line says "X-BOX KILLS!" When in reality it was his lifestyle or it was his chair that killed, no game or job ever tells you to GET UP AND STRETCH, the only game that every has was Metal Gear 4. And this is Darwisinism at its finest, if we humans were free of addiction, we would praticually be gods at this point in our lives. Seriously, if this were a apidemic, then I would understand trying to raise awareness for something like this, but it is not, there fore, it should be understood that if your addicted to something for too long, YOU WILL DIE! Its just repeating the phrase, ADDICTION KILLS!

True, and I'm not saying I 100% agree with the phrasing of the article. Xbox didn't kill him. But you can't deny that in this case there is a correlation between gaming and his death, even if only because it was an addiction.

The reason why I think this article is relevant or important is because, no not everyone will die from gaming, but people may not associate 'gaming' and 'addiction', when it does exist to varying degrees. So even for the few people who may read it and realize that they or someone they're responsible for needs to get up and go for a walk, the article is worth noting. Though it could have been better stated, there's an important message in their.

Also, World of Warcraft reminds the player of how long they've been playing every hour and does suggest they take a break, because they understand the addictive nature of their game. In fact, Super Mario Galaxy 2 has one of the characters suggest you take a break too every so often. Very responsible of them.

 

[CrazyMedic]

I know this is the sun and I hate toe defend them but assuming he did stay in one position for twelve hours at a time it is very likely had he liked gaming he would have lived, I mean if my father didn't have such large blood vessels he would have died of the same thing(he got it from doing wedding and school year books rather than gaming)so while the article is biased it isn't like claiming gaming caused the Oslo murders.

I'm sorry are you saying that the guy hated playing games even though he played them 12 hours at a time?

Either way David Bloom will not be grieving for this tub of lard.

thanks for pointing out that typo fix'd

 

[OsricFromHamlet]

Here's a link to the BBC article on this:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-south-yorkshire-14350216

Can't see anything particularly wrong with the response here. A man has died from being inactive for far too long and videogames are partly to blame (if only in the same way alcohol can be responsible for the death of an alcoholic as a result of excess consumption rather than the alcohol itself). The difference between this an a trans-atlantic flight is you don't sit down for twelve hours if the flight is only four but this man remained inactive (in a dangerous position) for twelve hours of his own accord. Surely that makes a point.

Setting up a website to warn people of the dangers of remaining inactive (and how videogames can cause us to remain inactive which, unless you own a Wii, they do) I really have no problem with. Advising people to watch their videogaming time is no different to advising people to watch their alcohol intake, or how much time they spend driving (consecutively) and so on. No one's forcing you to take the advice (not a fan of that) and if the man's father thinks it will help save lives then all power to him.

I really don't see the problem with this whole affair other than the fact that some people seem to have seen "videogames" and "death" in the same article and lost all their objectivity.

 

[Rhymenoceros]

One thing: It's the Sun

They're our version of Fox (although not as bad-I hope)

 

[Gaderael]

"Playing on it for so long is what killed him* - and I don't want another child to die."

They have a point there. Maybe we should ban all trans-Atlantic flights as well, just to be sure?

Yeah, I probably should have clarified why I emphasized that part. I just meant that doing anything for as long as that kid was doing, repeatedly, ignoring basic things like eating, drinking, and taking bathroom breaks is a bad idea. Also in trans-Atlantic flights, I'm guessing people do get up and move around, and don't just stay in one position the whole time like this kid did. I would dispute the article's claims that this kid was healthy. There had to be other signs that there was something wrong with him leading up to his death, besides doing nothing but his hobby at all hours.

 

[astrav1]

You do realize that the sun is and will always be full of shit right?

 

[Megacherv]

"He lived for his Xbox", well theres a sad statement in itself.

To be honest what do they expect, if they already know that doing anything while sitting still for hours on end can cause DVT, then why didnt they link it in with......sitting still for hours on end while playing games, can cause DVT?

Sounds like just another witch hunt to me

That's not true actually, DVT is caused by a lack of fresh air. The reason people get it on planes because of the recycled air since they're no longer venting all the air due to smoking becoming illegal on flights.

 

[Kuroneko97]

Maybe the parents should have taken him off the game, or some friends take him out to have some non-digital fun.

Firstly he was twenty. If a person still needs parental supervision at twenty they are fail. Seriously, they are the very essence of failure condensed into a physical form.

Secondly, you didn't read the article did you? There's no shame to admitting it. His parents never blamed the console for his death, they pinned it squarely on his lifestyle. In practice the gaming addiction was involved because, hey, what else gets you to sit stock still for twelve hours but frankly there was nothing they could do to stop this really.

1) My sister is Twenty-two. She just moved out of our house a month or two ago. Yes, I can agree she is fail, as she doesn't even have a job and sits around all day crying because she's alone while talking to her cat and dog that she won't shut up about.

2)Yes, I read the article. Twice. And I believe that sometimes you should force someone out of their house/room if you are fully aware they are doing nothing productive in life, and they're of an age where they should be making an effort (look back to my first point). I'm sure most of us don't need parental supervision at 20, but you should at least be getting out, hence why I believe SOMEBODY should have dragged him out and take him to a trip around town or something.

3) I really, REALLY hate when people jump to conclusions. Please do not so quickly assume things, such as that I did not read the article the thread is entirely about.

 

[ReservoirAngel]

The true thing about this? Sitting down playing video games is probably one of the safest things you can ever do. If it was a clot that killed him, it was going to happen sooner or later anyway. Pretty much inevitable. The way I see it, he spent his final hours doing what he loved, and we should be glad video games exist so he had that comfort to indulge in.

 

[OldGus]

AND THEN, think of all the people who spend eight hours a day in an office chair at work. Conclusion: WORK KILLS, STAY AT HOME, LIVE ON WELFARE.

Work, school, playing videogames while not getting up to walk to the fridge every time you want a random drink, and sleeping. The danger is all around us!

 

[dertyqwerty]

I think everyone is focusing too much on that this particular article came from The Sun.
I read this story on a different and non-skeezy news site.

The story's point is not to blame video games, it's not trying to turn this tragedy into a witch hunt. It's using this sad example as a public service announcement. Video game companies aren't fucking around when they tell you to take a break, because this shit does happen.

Sure video games aren't the only device that cause the blood clots, and we face death everyday. But seriously, if you know that this can happen, how un-worth your time is it to stand up for 2 freaking minutes and shake your legs out a bit. No one's saying to run a marathon, just move a bit.

Sorry if I'm a little raging, but from the looks of it people are getting the wrong message out of this and not taking it seriously because this thread happened to be based around a joke of journalism.

 

[hazabaza1]

So guys, staying still for half a day or more every day can sometimes be unhealthy.
Oh, also, watch out, running the opposite way down the motorway gives you a chance to get hit by a car. And skydiving with no parachute will likely end with you going "splat".