A 30 year old man died in an internet cafe in Guanzhou, China, due to what state run media reports as excessive internet gaming. After playing for three days solid, the man collapsed and died in front of over 100 other internet surfers.

Paramedics failed to resuscitate the man who the Beijing News state collapsed from exhaustion on Saturday after his three day binge. He was declared dead on the premises. This is the first death linked directly to internet gaming to have been officially recorded.

This tragic event highlights the dangers of both gaming and internet addiction. It is reported that China has over 142 million internet users, which is second only to the USA. The average time spent on the internet in China is increasing by an estimated 30% per year, and this trend is reflected globally.

The effects of the internet and online gaming is being researched and investigated by charities and organisations such as GamCare and eCogra. Online gaming companies are certainly implementing more preventative measures and focusing on being certificated by regulatory bodies.

So this means that internet gaming companies are taking a more serious look into social responsibility. But when tragedies like this can happen, can this be considered enough?

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