|
By Leow Siwan
FIRST, there was road rage and air rage.
Now, psychiatrists and psychologists are worried about gaming rage - where gamers fly off the handle over issues arising from their computer games.
They told The Straits Times last week that gaming rage is a problem that warrants scrutiny as gaming becomes more accessible and popular.
Psychiatrist Ang Yong Guan said: 'Gaming is becoming very available. There are 24-hour cyber-cafes and it is becoming mass entertainment, just like watching a movie.'
In the latest case, just three weeks ago, a Nanyang Technological University undergraduate was beaten up and had his laptop smashed - all because of an online game.
The 19-year-old Chinese national, an engineering student, was attacked on Sept 24 at about 11.30pm.
He had been playing Defence of the Ancients (Dota), an online team strategy game, when he was asked by another player to assume the role of a character he did not want to play.
What could have been just a minor disagreement online turned ugly when the victim, who lived on campus, challenged the other player to look for him if he dared to.
He then gave his block and room number. A group of about seven turned up at his doorstep.
A neighbour who happened to step out of his room saw 'a group of four or five people' standing outside the victim's room.
'From the windows, I could see another two guys in the room. One seemed to be guarding the victim's room-mate while another chap was beating up the victim,' the neighbour said.
He added that the victim was then dragged out of the room and 'dumped' on a grass patch after about 15 to 20 minutes.
Campus security was alerted, and the police called in.
When The Straits Times visited the victim two weeks ago, he appeared well except for some scratches on his arm. There was also masking tape on his glasses. His laptop had been replaced by a small notebook.
Both he and his room-mate - who was unharmed - declined to be interviewed.
In 2001, a 21-year-old drug abuser was jailed for six years and caned six strokes after he attacked his opponent over a computer game.
He was so angry at being beaten at Counterstrike, a computer game simulating gunfights between terrorists and anti-terrorists, that he whipped out a knife and stabbed his opponent.
Some psychiatrists, like Dr Brian Yeo, said those who fly into a rage because of online games tend to be addicted to gaming.
The consultant psychiatrist, who sees at least a patient every week with gaming or Internet-related issues, said: 'Some of them get angry when they lose a game or when their avatars die. They throw things, scream or isolate themselves.'
The majority of these patients are male, usually students or young working adults, he said.
Psychologist Daniel Koh said he has seen about 15 computer-related cases this year.
Up till five years ago, such cases were considered 'very rare', he said.
Gaming rage is no different from how irate motorists lose their cool in a traffic jam.
Psychiatrist Pauline Sim said: 'Like road rage, the person is no longer thinking and has become emotional. He has lost control, it's poor anger management basically.'
This article was first published in The Straits Times.
| 
