Gaming- Moral Panics

Society's fear that gaming is fast taking over and controlling people's lives through its stigmatised influence that it encourages obesity, violence, and negative representations of women is fast becoming a reality.

For example in Singapore, citizens are currently 'beset by a moral panic surrounding young people’s use of online gaming', according to an article written by Catherine Howell.
In Singapore, December 2006, a teenage boy was arrested and sentenced to early military service for illegally accessing a neighbour's unsecured wireless network. His parents had recently become concerned at his recent change in attitude and lack of interest in his schoolwork came to the conclusion that he had been spending too much time gaming which had consequently led to his deviant behaviour. They decided to cut his access to the Internet, resulting in his inability to connect to the Internet and game online. At this, his response was to take his laptop and wander the streets until he found an unsecured wireless network to tap in to. He was discovered by a neighbour who then reported his actions to the police after the boy allegedly became aggressive.
Since then, the issue of online gaming has broke in to a global controversy asking the question: Is online gaming affecting our social values?

I personally believe that online gaming is like a drug. Once you are hooked in to the web of freedom and creativity it becomes an addiction. And curbing the addiction can be a difficult process, resulting in young people becoming frustrated and rebellious that their outlet to release their 'bad' energy in to has been removed from them. I think this consequently could lead to a decline in social values.