http://www.thestar.com/article/523702
Recent case in Ontario of a child, clearly addicted to Call of Duty 4 (which I have played extensively), who ran away from home when his father took away his ability to play (after multiple attempts). The child ran away and is still missing days later. His bike has been found but no sign of him.
This is one of the reasons I only have one computer in my house, its easier to monitor. If I do get a second computer, it will be in an open area, not in a kids room, so that I can make sure its only being used at approved times (and only after homework is done).
The other bizarre twist on the story, is that earlier reports theorized that a paedophile might have lured the boy to meet. As someone with experience in first person shooting games, I’d say while its possible, its probably not likely. First off, the Paed would have to buy the game and learn how to play, which takes more time and energy than simply trolling chat groups. Secondly he would have to understand that users on online games like Call of Duty and Battlefield are tracked by their CD codes and their IP addresses are recorded when they log onto servers. Communications between players are recorded as well. It is also not a condusive environment – people using first person shooters tend not to be too chatty. As a server admin, I would see anything like that going on, access the recording of it and send it along to authorities pretty quick.
James
