Mom Calls 911 on Video-Game Obsessed Son
The mother of a 14-year-old boy from Roxbury, Massachusetts, called 911 in an attempt to get him to stop playing videogames. “I woke up in the middle of the night and saw the light on in his bedroom,” Angeles Mejia said, explaining that he was playing the game “Grand Theft Auto,” a violent game in which the player assumes the role of a criminal.
“Sometimes I want to run away, too,” Mejia said, breaking down into tears. “I have support from my church, but I’m alone. I want to help my son, but I can’t find a way.”
Laurel J. Sweet and Marie Szanislo of the Boston Herald write that Mejia is among thousands of parents struggling with today’s video-game obsessed youth. The Entertainment Software Association reports that 42 percent of adults are intending to give or receive videogames for Christmas.
An argument ensued as Mejia unplugged her son’s PlayStation. Then, she dialed 911. Police responded and managed to talk the boy into shutting off the game and going to sleep.
“They (police) were just like, ‘Chill out. Go to bed,’” the boy told the Herald.
Mejia said she approves of athletic-themed videos, but as for “Grand Theft Auto,” she said, “I would never buy that kind of video. No way. I called (police) because if you don’t respect your mother, what are you going to do in your life?”
Mejia, a cafeteria cashier at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Jamaica Plain, said the two officers who responded “were surprised” there was more involved than putting the lid on a simmering family feud.
Lawrence Kutner, former co-director of the Center for Mental Health and Media at Massachusetts General Hospital and Emmy Award-winning documentarian, is the author of “Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth About Violent Video Games and What Parents Can Do.”
“Clearly, it’s a very, very rare situation for someone to call the cops. That she went to the extreme of calling the police tells me more about her level of frustration than anything else,” Kutner said.
“Adults tend to view video games as isolating experiences,” Kutner said. “Kids view them as social experiences. It’s a way in part—especially for boys—of gaining social acceptance.”
January 1, 2010 at 11:08 am
I would imagine she’s not the only mom struggling with this. Parents have to set rules early on (like don’t let them have a TV in their bedroom) or anyone with a propensity to isolate and become obsessive will have ample opportunity.