Child starves to death as as parents raise a virtual baby

BBC News wrote:

The pair fed their own premature baby just once a day in between 12-hour stretches at an internet cafe, the official Yonhap news agency reported.

Police officer Chung Jin-won told Yonhap they "lost their will to live a normal life" after losing their jobs.

He said they "indulged themselves online" to escape from reality.

The 41-year-old father and his 25-year-old wife were arrested in the city of Suweon, south of Seoul, earlier this week, five months after they reported the death of their baby.

An autopsy showed her death was caused by a long period of malnutrition.

The couple had become obsessed with nurturing a virtual girl called Anima in the popular role-playing game Prius Online, police said on Friday.

The game enables players to interact with Anima and as they do so, help her to recover her lost memory and develop emotions.

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Goddamn it, South Korea.

Ugh. That's terrible.

That's terrible, a virtual child taking precedent over own actual flesh and blood? [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

South Korea seems to be a hotbed of this kind of thing - wasn't there a guy who died from sitting in an internet cafe for something like 72 hours a few years ago?

EPIC FUCKING PARENTING FAIL

how is babby starved
how girl get exp.

Keith Fraser wrote:

South Korea seems to be a hotbed of this kind of thing - wasn't there a guy who died from sitting in an internet cafe for something like 72 hours a few years ago?

There was also a guy who legally married an avatar he met on an online virtual dating site.

I'm beginning to think that Korea and the surrounding area in general is even stranger than Japan. Which is saying something.

Mafiosa wrote:

how is babby starved
how girl get exp.

They need to do way instain mother> who starve thier babbys. becuse these babby cant fede self?
it was on the news this mroing a mother in kor who had starve her kid . they are taking the babby back to morgu too lady to rest my pary are with the father who lost his chrilde ; i am truley sorry for thier lots

I can't help but wonder if these two were just ordinary people who mentally snapped and started to have some shared delusion or mental illness that was reinforced by each other and the circumstances of having no jobs. Perhaps in ideal circumstances they would have been good or decent parents, but they just took a terrible, terrible turn here...

Psy-4 wrote:

Mafiosa wrote:

how is babby starved
how girl get exp.

They need to do way instain mother> who starve thier babbys. becuse these babby cant fede self?
it was on the news this mroing a mother in kor who had starve her kid . they are taking the babby back to morgu too lady to rest my pary are with the father who lost his chrilde ; i am truley sorry for thier lots

Don't ever change.

Malganis wrote:

I can't help but wonder if these two were just ordinary people who mentally snapped and started to have some shared delusion or mental illness that was reinforced by each other and the circumstances of having no jobs. Perhaps in ideal circumstances they would have been good or decent parents, but they just took a terrible, terrible turn here...

According to another source, both parents suffered from depression after losing their jobs. In South Korea has a very high rate of work-place related suicides. The average South Korean family has both parents working 14 hour days, that's bond to drive anyone to suicide.

Keith Fraser wrote:

South Korea seems to be a hotbed of this kind of thing - wasn't there a guy who died from sitting in an internet cafe for something like 72 hours a few years ago?

I thought that was China, but South Korea really is just as bad when it comes to virtual addiction.

At any rate South Korea can't be too rosy given the prevalence we see of psychotic and often fatal levels of internet addiction.

Rabid Badger wrote:

There was also a guy who legally married an avatar he met on an online virtual dating site.

Wait, just the avatar? Not the person behind it?

Keith Fraser wrote:

Rabid Badger wrote:

There was also a guy who legally married an avatar he met on an online virtual dating site.

Wait, just the avatar? Not the person behind it?

Was a bit confused. She was a character in a video game. You can read the story here:

Man Marries Video Girl

I frankly think he's a few straws short of a bale, but whatever makes you happy, I guess.

Sally2 wrote:

That's terrible, a virtual child taking precedent over own actual flesh and blood? [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I can't hear you, I'm too busy ignoring my homework to play FFXI.

Mally wrote:

I can't help but wonder if these two were just ordinary people who
mentally snapped and started to have some shared delusion or mental
illness that was reinforced by each other and the circumstances of
having no jobs. Perhaps in ideal circumstances they would have been
good or decent parents, but they just took a terrible, terrible turn
here...

EVERY fucking time something goes wrong, you have to say something about mental illness causing it. I'm surprised you didn't say the lawnmower that killed the Aussie had anger management issues.

Why isn't some people can't just be fatally irresponsible, or evil, or whatever? There has to be a diagnosis from fucking Freud before it makes any sense to you, doesn't it?

Because 'evil' is totally a recognised condition.

Freud sucks.

Hucklebuck wrote:

Why isn't some people can't just be fatally irresponsible, or evil, or whatever?

You do realize that if people didn't try to find answers for behavior instead of automatically hating someone, you would have been murdered in your sleep long ago, don't you?

This makes me wonder how Mary Sue Slappababe is coming along.

Delcat wrote:

Hucklebuck wrote:

Why isn't some people can't just be fatally irresponsible, or evil, or whatever?

You do realize that if people didn't try to find answers for behavior instead of automatically hating someone, you would have been murdered in your sleep long ago, don't you?

This makes me wonder how Mary Sue Slappababe is coming along.

Oh yeah, I guess I should throw her a sandwich or something.

I should start that up again when summer comes.

Mafiosa wrote:

Oh yeah, I guess I should throw her a sandwich or something.

Nonsense, you'll spoil the girl. Give her a squeaky toy and maybe crack the window a little and she'll be fine.

I have to ask what I'm sure everyone else is thinking but can't bring themselves to say...

But what about the virtual babby?! Think of the virtual children! I mean, she'll waste away into nothingness if her meat space parents can't take care of her! Woe!

Aggie wrote:

I have to ask what I'm sure everyone else is thinking but can't bring themselves to say...

But what about the virtual babby?! Think of the virtual children! I mean, she'll waste away into nothingness if her meat space parents can't take care of her! Woe!

Aggie, darlin', I don't know quite how to explain this to you, but babby never existed in the first place, except in cyberspace. She was a computer program/

Delcat wrote:

Hucklebuck wrote:

Why isn't some people can't just be fatally irresponsible, or evil, or whatever?

You do realize that if people didn't try to find answers for
behavior instead of automatically hating someone, you would have been
murdered in your sleep long ago, don't you?

You realize THAT has nothing to do with it and the reason I'm still alive is I never sleep where someone knows I'd be sleeping? [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Rabid Badger wrote:

Aggie wrote:

I have to ask what I'm sure everyone else is thinking but can't bring themselves to say...

But what about the virtual babby?! Think of the virtual children! I mean, she'll waste away into nothingness if her meat space parents can't take care of her! Woe!

Aggie, darlin', I don't know quite how to explain this to you, but babby never existed in the first place, except in cyberspace. She was a computer program/

You're being sarcastic and unfunny right? Because even you aren't stupid enough to not get that Aggy was joking. I think I have a picture to sum up my disappointment with you, lemme find it...

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Mikey, babe, she was joking and if I had a macro to sum up my disappointment with you, I'd use it.

Hey, Zeiss, if you're reading, can I get a disappointed macro? Please?

Goat wrote:

Mikey, babe, she was joking and if I had a macro to sum up my disappointment with you, I'd use it.

Hey, Zeiss, if you're reading, can I get a disappointed macro? Please?

Are you sure? It seemed like she was being serious.

Also, I need to send you my Reaction folder. My reaction to hearing you have no reactions:

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