Teenager was just 13 when he changed from a healthy and active young boy to one consumed by video games.
Young Logan Hodge, now 14 ,is housebound and unable to attend school due to his addictive behaviour.
It’s been two years since the Sydney teen spent a full day at high school – roughly the same amount of time he’s owned his Sony PS4.
His mum, Britta Hodge, thought nothing of letting Logan spend his savings on the gaming console. It seemed like a good outlet for him as she coped with the breakdown of her marriage.
However, the harmless distraction has turned into a debilitating addiction for Logan and emotionally drained his mother and his five siblings.
“We can’t get him to school, he doesn’t leave the house. He comes out and eats and goes back to his room. We’ve tried everything. We’ve tried doctors,” Ms Hodge told 9Honey.
“My concern is that he’s in year eight now, and he hasn’t had any formal education for two years. So, what’s going to happen later on in life for him?
Ms Hodge said her son’s addiction is so severe he has stopped socialising with the outside world and leaves his house once a week. He has also been diagnosed with ADHD and suffers from high anxiety.
“He was a normal healthy active little boy. He loved sport, being with friends, going to the movies and the beach,” Ms Hodge said.
NO we can’t just force him!
In answer to those who suggest she should just send him to school, Ms Hodge says it’s sadly not that simple.
“An addiction is an addiction. It doesn’t matter if it’s drugs, sex or online gaming,” she said.
“It’s chronic. We’ve been to doctors who have said ‘I don’t think we’ve seen such a chronic case’.”
Over the years Logan has been addicted to games such as Call of Duty, Ark, Destiny and Minecraft. His latest obsession is the controversial multi-player shooter game, Fortnite.
“I actually blame the manufacture of the game (Fortnite) because they do it in such a way that if you don’t get to a certain level you drop back,” Ms Hodge said.
“We don’t let him have it until 4pm… but he’ll make up for lost time. To try and take it away at any other time, he can get aggressive and I’ve had to call police,” she said.
The World Health Organisation recently classified “Gaming addiction” as a mental health condition.
Ms hodge is now begging for more support.
“I just need the government to try and recognise that we need support, we need to be subsided for the help for our children.”
A NINE-year-old girl is reportedly in rehab for her addiction to an online video game. Read more on that HERE.
Read more – Addictive Video Games Just as Harmful as Drugs
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