According to local media, a man in China hired virtual “assassins” to track down and kill his son’s avatar in online video games. The man, identified as Mr. Feng by the Kotaku East blog, was concerned about the amount of time his 23-year-old unemployed son spent online. According to reports, he hoped his actions would discourage his son from participating in the games. His son eventually asked one of the gamers why they were always picking on him. “It’s not going to do much for family relations,” Nottingham Trent University gambling and addictions expert Prof. Mark Griffiths told the BBC.
Xiao Feng’s poor academic performance and inability to hold down a job Despite finding work at a software company, Xiao quit after three months, deciding that online gaming was a much better use of his time than pounding the pavement. This irritated Dad, so instead of nagging his son to death, he hired assassins to murder him virtually. The ruthless mercenaries were hired to attack the younger Feng whenever he logged into one of his favorite games, stomping him into submission. Dad hoped that by using such drastic measures, his son would lose interest in the game, allowing him to pursue gainful employment instead.
Despite being tired of being killed every time, Xiao Feng decided to stand up to his father and express his feelings. He was reported to have said, “It doesn’t matter if I can or cannot play.” “I’m not looking for any job—I just want to take my time finding the right one for me.”
Feng expressed relief after hearing his son’s heartfelt plea. It’s unclear whether Feng has called off his assassins or whether Xiao Feng has found work. One thing is certain: Feng’s method of discouraging his son from playing video games may be one of the best ideas to come out of China recently, especially given the extreme reactions to “gaming and internet addiction” in China.
