17-Year-Old Dies By Suicide After Parents Scold Her For Playing Video Games

A 17-year-old girl in India died by suicide Sunday night after her parents scolded her for playing video games.

The teenager, who lived in the southern city of Hyderabad, got upset when her father and mother yelled at her after she spent most of her time playing games. The mother had asked her to have dinner and go to bed early, the Siasat Daily reported Monday.

However, the enraged girl went into her bedroom, and hung herself from the ceiling fan. The victim has been identified as Kaushika Reddy.

Her family members, later, found her hanging from the fan, and rushed her to a state-run hospital where she was declared dead, The Times of India reported.

Speaking to the Siasat Daily, the Meerpet police station official said an investigation was currently underway into the incident.

Authorities said the girl was a student of Intermediate second year in Sri Chaitanya Junior College. The teenager's body has been sent for an autopsy. Other details about the incident were not immediately made public. It is also not known if the teenager had locked the door of her bedroom from inside.

The latest incident comes just days after a 14-year-old boy in the eastern Indian state of Odisha killed himself after being scolded for playing games on his phone. Authorities in the case said his parents had given him the mobile phone to attend online classes after schools were closed across the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the young boy spent much of his time playing games instead of studying for his exams. On the day of the incident, the child's mother had reportedly taken his phone away, and scolded him. Enraged, the boy left the room and went to the roof of the house, and hung himself using a towel. He was then rushed to a local hospital where doctors declared him dead.

The National Center for Biotechnology Information in a report stated with the increase of dependency on smartphones, addiction to the gadgets has become a serious problem, especially among children. The researchers also mentioned that smartphone addiction has a negative impact not only on an individual's psychological health, but also physical health.

If you have thoughts of suicide, confidential help is available for free at the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Call 1-800-273-8255. The line is available 24 hours, every day.