Comrade! Put That Mouse Down Before You Keel!

From Yahoo! News, a man in China dies after playing Internet games for three straight days. The most amazing part of this story is he wasn't playing himself to death in the privacy of his own home, but in a public venue, a cybercafe.

There's just a hint of propaganda in the middle of this story. The Chinese government all but admits it seeks to crack down on their citizens' access to Internet content deemed "unhealthy" and replace it with state controlled stuff.

Setting aside the Oliver Stone in me, let's just say the Chinese government didn't kill this guy as part of some twisted campaign to control their people's Internet access. Assuming he really did play computer games for three straight days, this guy obviously had some addiction issues. I'm guessing if games weren't around, it would have been gambling or alcohol or drugs that eventually led to his premature demise.

But since computer gaming is involved, some will point to gaming as the problem rather than an individual's psychosis. This guy is one out of millions that took it too far, and yet a vocal minority will draw broad conclusions about the "dangers" of computer games. Gaming didn't kill this guy, a serious mental illness did. If there's any discussion that emerges from this story, I hope that rings loud and clear.