Parents Force 14-Year-Old into Rehab for Gaming Addiction
In a recent episode of ABC’s 20/20, 14-year-old Josh from Michigan was taken against his will to a desert in Utah. Surprisingly, it was his own parents who abducted him.
Josh’s parents compelled him to attend a rehab program in Utah, believing he was addicted to video games.
Josh’s gaming routine was intense—he played games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive for about 12 hours a day, totaling 60 hours per week. He would stay up until 1 a.m. and sleep until noon.
When Josh’s parents took away his computer, it led to behavioral issues. However, Josh claimed his mother was exaggerating, and he felt scared of her.
Before being sent to Utah, Josh underwent an fMRI to measure his brain activity. The treating doctors believe that excessive gaming alters brain activity and plan to conduct studies to test this hypothesis. Later that week, Josh was forcibly taken from his home and transported to Salt Lake City, where he would later be driven to the desert for a technology-free isolation period.
Feeling it was unnecessary, Josh said, “It’s kind of stupid. I play video games and I have to go to rehab for it.” He expressed his emotions and desire to see his mother.
Josh spent over two months in the dry plains of Utah, where discipline and hard work were emphasized during his time away from home. Towards the end of the segment, images of Josh’s brain were shown to exhibit the effects of his separation from CS:GO. These images allegedly displayed improved neural activity.
Related: The False Cause Fallacy: Violent Video Games ≠ Violent People
In addition, the ABC segment featured other individuals including a smartphone-addicted teenage girl, a console-obsessed family-man, and an adolescent boy with an unhealthy love for Minecraft. All of them exhibited signs of compulsion and self-imposed isolation from the real world.
While ABC’s coverage of these stories was thorough, it often portrayed the issues in a negative light. For instance, they replaced CS:GO‘s in-game gun sounds with real-life machine gun sounds, falsely suggesting the game’s realism to viewers. This aligns with the recurring narrative that video games are violent and corrupting.
Some of the cases mentioned involved other mental health conditions, yet they were equated to substance addicts. ABC’s approach echoed the demonizing tone commonly found in media pieces about gaming addiction, oversimplifying the challenges faced by those involved.
A software developer interviewed during the segment provided a counter-balance to the arguments, stating, “We’re not going to help people change their behavior through shame and willpower.” Josh admitted to using video games as an escape.
To address any unhealthy habit, moderation is key. Whether being dragged to the desert is an effective treatment remains to be seen.
gaming addiction, rehab program, excessive gaming, brain activity, compulsive behavior, self-isolation, negative portrayal, media bias, moderation, treatment effectiveness