2010 March, 5th

Kristen Nicole

When does virtual game play go to far? The parents of a starved baby may have found out, when their three-month old infant died of malnutrition. The South Korean couple left their baby to starve to death at home, while playing an internet game. The disturbing irony of it all? The web-based game they were playing involved the rearing of a virtual child.

On the run since their real daughter died in September, the couple was finally arrested five months after reporting the baby’s death. The autopsy revealed that the infant girl had indeed died of malnutrition, a severe sign of neglect on the part of the parents. The couple fed their infant daughter just once a day in between 12-hour stretches and a local Internet cafe. Having become engrossed with their ability to have successful lives in the virtual sense, the parents lost focus on their real-life responsibilities.

The father, a 41 year-old man, was unemployed, as was his 25 year-old wife. Depressed and having lost their will to live a normal life, the responsibilities of raising a premature baby may have seemed quite overwhelming at the time. Their method of escape appears to be the web-based game Prius Online, a popular role-playing game. Their virtual daughter’s name was Anima.

As the ABC article points out, there have been other deaths related to Internet game addiction in South Korea, including a man that died after spending 5 days glued to a web-based game. I’m all for a good game of SIMS, but I realize after a couple hours that I could be living my own life instead of perfecting those of a virtual character.

The dangers of Internet addiction have been warned against for years, and the same has gone for game consoles. As the two overlap further, and virtual worlds become more involved, there is an increased amount of emotion that can go into an intangible environment. As game developers seek more ways in which to integrate real life instances and emotions into the virtual realm, our social development actually changes as a result.

Even without the disguise of a game environment, the way in which we learn about our social roles is becoming increasingly tied to our web-based activity. Relationships are shifting due to our heavy use of social media outlets, and our ability to get sucked into a virtual environment where we control the bulk of our surroundings can be a welcome reprieve from the woes of the real world.

Of course, some see this as the way of the future. Real economies are thriving as a result of actions taken in virtual worlds, from property rental to complete store fronts. The virtual realm is mimicking the real world in several ways, and this will only continue to grow in the future. The fear is that we’ll all end up plugged into some sort of virtual world, absolved of dealing with our actual surroundings, because the virtual world will offer itself up as an interface for business, entertainment, and just about everything else we need.

Sure, it sounds like a Bruce Willis movie, but our avatars really are becoming digital representations of ourselves. That includes you basic profile on Facebook, which will soon become your portal for making purchases, corresponding with friends, family members, and associates, while also offering itself up as a virtual version of yourself in more ways than we can currently imagine.

For now, take virtual worlds for what they’re worth. You’re not required to be on them for extended periods of time (yet), so enjoy the virtual world as much as you’d like, then get back to the real world. Use the virtual environment as a point of inspiration for what you want to do in the physical world, and create your own reality.

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About the Author

Kristen was the lead writer and Field Editor of Mashable, a popular publication that covers social media and tech. She has contributed to a number of other publications including CenterNetworks, VentureBeat, Bubblicious and The Industry Standard. Her work has been syndicated across a number of main stream media outlets, including Reuters, The New York Times, and NBC. Her latest accomplishment has been co-authoring The Twitter Survival Guide, which you can purchase here. She is also completing her second book, Twitter for Women.

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