Gaming-Related Deaths
Playing video games can be a relaxing activity—and is so for billions of people. However, as we have seen in recent episodes, the risk of addiction lingers beneath the surface and, in some cases, leads to even worse outcomes. Over the past two decades, reports of gaming-related deaths have hit the news cycle. Today’s study looks at 24 such cases.
• Until 2021, 24 deaths related to video games occurred. Over half of them in Southeast Asia.
• The games involved were presumably multiplayer titles that encourage players to "never stop," in contrast to single-player games.
• Ten of the cases involved existing risk factors such as obesity, smoking, a broken leg, or previous heart attacks.
• Five deaths were caused by embolism; in nine cases, heart failure, heart attack, or cardiac arrest was cited as the cause.
• "... chronic short-sleeping may have already done subclinical damage in these individuals, making them more susceptible to an acute event..." [1]
Especially in Southeast Asia, gaming is massive. It is estimated that about 7% of the world’s population has an internet addiction, and 2.5% a gaming addiction. In Southeast Asia, that figure is estimated to be 5%. In extreme cases, gamers spend many hours per day in a virtual world without adequate food, drink, or sleep. As one might assume, this is a dangerous recipe for the human body.
"We aimed to investigate the real size of the problem of death linked to playing video games, if these subjects were addicted to gaming as often stigmatized, the connection between gaming and death, and the possible reasons leading to death." [1]
🪦 Death By Playing?!
Until the end of 2021, 24 relevant cases were identified by researchers. Although there was a case in the early 1980s, "cases of real interest started after 2002, with 1 or 2 cases every year or two." [1] The victims’ ages ranged from 11 to 40 years. Mirroring general gaming addiction statistics, the victims were almost exclusively men (23/24). On a side note, internet addiction among females typically focuses on social media rather than gaming.
Of the 24 cases, more than half originated in Southeast Asia (Taiwan, China, South Korea, and Thailand), with 12 occurring in internet cafes. Why internet cafes? In these countries, renting time at a cafe is much cheaper than purchasing a PC, internet connection, and electricity. Furthermore, these cafes often provide inexpensive food and drinks, and even private rooms with beds or showers. One could essentially live in an internet cafe without ever having to leave.
"The games played were definitely or presumably multiplayer games, where the competitive factor or adaptation to the other players enforces the gamer into a faster pace and prevents him from stopping, contrary to single-player mode, where one can do it in his own pace." [1]
Ten of the cases involved co-morbidities or risk factors like obesity, high blood pressure, or smoking. Five deaths were caused by embolism.
Prolonged immobilization (sitting in front of a computer for hours), bedrest, and dehydration are well-known risk factors for deep vein thrombosis. When focused on highly immersive games, players may be less aware of feeling stiff, sore, or thirsty.
In nine cases, heart failure or cardiac arrest was the cause of death. Notably, one case was not connected to an addiction-fueled "binge," but rather to esports. It may be the first esports-related death: the person died while resting from training for a competition, once the immediate stress had subsided.
"In 18 cases the gaming session before death was extremely long (around a day or even several days) with minimal rest, which results in acute sleep deprivation, or the victim was repeatedly playing quite long sessions, which suggests chronic sleep deficiency." [1]
Frequent readers should know that I’m a fan of getting enough sleep, as sleep deprivation is linked to an infinite number of terrible effects on the body. One animal study showed that acute sleep deprivation caused all rats in the experiment to die within 2–6 weeks.
In the case of gaming-related deaths, "chronic short-sleeping may have already done subclinical damage in these individuals, making them more susceptible to an acute event." [1] An "acute event" refers to a shock to the body that becomes fatal when combined with existing damage from sleep deprivation.
🥡 The Takeaways
Although there is no direct causal link between gaming and death in all of these cases, the data highlights extreme events that occur when health is neglected. One can argue that gaming-related habits played at least a partial role in these deaths.
The takeaways should be obvious: get up every now and then to move your body (ideally to get something to drink or eat), don't play too much (what ever that amount is), and don't make games your life.
Thanks for reading, and I hope you all have a great week. Cheers,
Christian 🙂
