Just back from a major counseling conference, I do apologize for being remiss with this blog. There is so much to tell you, to challenge you to think about.
For now, please read the article I have attached below, but do note that this event happened over a year ago. During the conference, it was brought to my painful attention, the mesmerizing, but dangerous world of virtual reality. It is the HoloDeck (from Star Trek) in a very warped sense. By the way, the HoloDeck creation is not so much science fiction anymore. Read this.
How far away are we from this in America?
Recently I have heard stories of mothers (in America) being arrested for neglecting their children as they embed themselves into online worlds. Just when we thought that pornography was to be the final straw to break the back of marriage & family, this dimension of an alternate other-world is added. Satan surely is rubbing his hands together in ultra glee.
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| Would you rather nurture this real little boy? |
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| Or this life-like Avatar? |
Korean couple addicted to virtual life let real-life baby starve to death
Posted: 10:30 AM, March 4, 2010
A Korean couple addicted to computer games let their real-life baby starve to death while raising a virtual daughter online, police said Thursday.
The couple spent up to 12 hours a day at Internet cafes, leaving their three-month-old daughter home alone at their apartment in Suwon, South Korea.
Police said the couple became obsessed with living online and neglected their real lives.
They raised an avatar baby through their profiles on a Second Life-style game called PRIUS, while their real daughter was given just one bottle of milk a day.
Father Kim Yoo-chul, 41, and mom Choi Mi-sun, 25, called the emergency services when they returned from one online session in September last year and found their daughter dead.
But cops became suspicious about how severely dehydrated the baby was.
A spokesman for the National Scientific Criminal and Investigation Laboratory, which carried out an autopsy on the girl, said, "She appears to have starved to death because she was not fed for such a long period of time."
The girl was initially well cared for by her grandmother, but her health deteriorated after she moved back in with her parents.
Police tried to arrest the parents, but they disappeared after the baby's funeral.
Authorities caught up with them Tuesday and charged them with child abuse and neglect.
The couple told police of their guilt after their arrests.
"Due to our sense of guilt, we have not been to a PC gaming room over these five months," they said.
Online games are massively popular in South Korea.
A 28-year-old man dropped dead recently after playing his favorite game Starcraft for 50 hours nonstop without eating or drinking.
Weigh in, please. Were you aware of these virtual reality games? Do you know someone that is involved with them? Stay tuned, more to come on this.
The couple spent up to 12 hours a day at Internet cafes, leaving their three-month-old daughter home alone at their apartment in Suwon, South Korea.
Police said the couple became obsessed with living online and neglected their real lives.
They raised an avatar baby through their profiles on a Second Life-style game called PRIUS, while their real daughter was given just one bottle of milk a day.
Father Kim Yoo-chul, 41, and mom Choi Mi-sun, 25, called the emergency services when they returned from one online session in September last year and found their daughter dead.
"We found she had passed away when we woke up in the morning," they said.
But cops became suspicious about how severely dehydrated the baby was.
A spokesman for the National Scientific Criminal and Investigation Laboratory, which carried out an autopsy on the girl, said, "She appears to have starved to death because she was not fed for such a long period of time."
The girl was initially well cared for by her grandmother, but her health deteriorated after she moved back in with her parents.
Police tried to arrest the parents, but they disappeared after the baby's funeral.
Authorities caught up with them Tuesday and charged them with child abuse and neglect.
The couple told police of their guilt after their arrests.
"Due to our sense of guilt, we have not been to a PC gaming room over these five months," they said.
Online games are massively popular in South Korea.
A 28-year-old man dropped dead recently after playing his favorite game Starcraft for 50 hours nonstop without eating or drinking.
Weigh in, please. Were you aware of these virtual reality games? Do you know someone that is involved with them? Stay tuned, more to come on this.
