Police concerned over teen game addiction

Police are determined to deal with an alarming trend towards children becoming addicted to a violent internet game.

An internet cafe has banned two 13-year-old "junkies", who, it was claimed, had broken into 40 taxis over six weeks to pay for habits which culminated in a four-day gaming binge.

The 24-hour Wellington cafe, E-Joy, told police the boys had occasionally slept there after falling asleep playing Counter-Strike, one of the world's most popular online tactical war games.

IPlay, another 24-hour Wellington cafe, said it had found people sleeping under computer desks after marathon overnight sessions.

Parents were also cashing in on their children's habits, dropping them off at such cafes before hitting the town for the night.

IPlay manager Brent Corlett said the practice was allowed but children were let in alone only before midnight, and then only if they had a note from their parents.

Kilbirnie police youth aid officer Brett Callander stumbled on the problem of unsupervised children addicted to computer games when he arrested the two boys this week.

The pair were not typical criminal teens and had loving two-parent families, friends and schools that cared about them, he said.

Yet one had not been seen by his parents since Monday when he disappeared wearing his school uniform and was picked up, filthy, exhausted and bedraggled by Mr Callander on Thursday night.

Both would need treatment for their addictions, he said. Police considered children's parents responsible for leaving them unsupervised, but wanted internet cafes to be more scrupulous about minors.

Though the problem is new to police, internet sites devoted to Counter-Strike reveal that gamers have been concerned about addiction for some time.

The Counter-Strike New Zealand website is full of messages and articles from gamers claiming to be addicted, including teenagers who say they have skipped school to play.

"When I first started playing CS I fell in love with it. All I could think about is when I could have my next game," writes Blind-Reaper in a message posted in August.

Other players said it was the way you were "reborn" after being "killed", following five-minute online fights, that motivated them to continue to play.

But Mr Corlett believed the game was no more addictive than rugby-watching was to many New Zealanders.

Anyone who fell asleep at IPlay was woken up, he said.

If they were under 14, then the internet cafe would try to get hold of their parents.

- NZPA