Taking a leaf out of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) book, a Congress MLA in Jharkhand has demanded a ban on online multiplayer video game Player Unknown’s Battle Ground (PUBG) in the wake of its alleged adverse effects on children.
Jamtara legislator Irfan Ansari on Thursday carried a placard to the State Assembly asking the government to take cue from its Gujarat counterpart and ban the “addictive” video game in the tribal state.
“It is diverting the attention of children in the wrong direction. An 11-year-old boy recently committed suicide in Jamshedpur because of the influence of this video game,” Ansari said.
The development came hardly 48 hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi tackled a parent’s question about getting her son de-addicted to online gaming during “Pariksha Pe Charcha” on Tuesday.
Modi had said that parents should explore new ways in which they can encourage their children to get the most out of technology rather than getting addicted to it.
In a recent move to curb addiction of PUBG among children, the Gujarat government on January 22 issued a circular, asking schools to ensure a complete ban on the video game.
Moreover, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) too has asked all the states in India to ban the game, claiming that it adversely affects children.
State’s Urban Development Minister CP Singh on Thursday said that he has taken cognizance of Ansari’s demands and will take the issue up with Chief Minister Raghubar Das.
“If a video game is causing addiction, then we must take necessary steps. I will take it up with the CM soon,” Singh said.
The video game, which is available for free download on Google Play and Apple Store, is a hit not only among children but also young adults. The game allows players to form their teams and go out on a virtual expedition of neutralizing members of other teams and winning the game by being the last team standing.
Psychiatrists have on a number of occasions raised concerns over the violent nature of the game and how it makes children destructive, even self destructive at times.
“Right now I have two patients in my ward who are being treated for PUBG addiction. We call it Internet Gaming Disorder,” said Dr Nishant Goyal, Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the Central Institute of Psychiatry (CIP), Ranchi. The addiction of such video games is just like substance addiction such as alcoholism and drug abuse, he added.
“In this condition, children often avoid going to school, interacting with people or socialising in general,” Goyal said.
Ansari, the legislator who raised the issue in Jharkhand assembly, also said that several incidents of suicides and accidents related to the PUBG hysteria were reported from Jammu & Kashmir too. This has prompted many organizations to demand a ban on the game in the Valley.