Ghaziabad Sisters' Deaths: How Online Gaming Addiction Is Harming Young Minds | Explained

Last Updated:February 05, 2026, 07:00 IST

There is an increase in families visiting psychiatrists with children showing symptoms of irritability, school withdrawal, academic decline, difficulty in attention and mood swings

The WHO has officially recognised "gaming disorder" as a mental health condition in its ICD-11 classification, citing impaired control, prioritising gaming over daily life, and continuation despite negative consequences. (Image for representation: IMAGEN 4 ENGINE)

If your child has started spending long hours alone in a room, withdrawing from friends and reacting with distress or anger when asked to stop using their phone or gaming device, psychiatrists say these are no longer harmless habits but warning signs.

Those red flags have come into sharp focus after the death of three teenage sisters in Ghaziabad, allegedly linked to a Korean game online.

The incident has triggered concerns over rising online gaming addiction among adolescents and its impact on mental health – a risk also flagged in the latest Economic Survey. As investigators continue to examine the circumstances surrounding the siblings’ deaths, mental health experts warned that the tragedy must serve as a wake-up call – for parents, schools and policymakers – to treat online gaming addiction as a serious mental health concern and not simply a phase children will outgrow.

‘WARNING SIGNS, NOT STAGES’

Mimansa Singh Tanwar, clinical psychologist at mental healthcare chain Adayu Mindfulness, told News18 that parents often miss early symptoms assuming children will “grow out of it".

“There has been a huge increase in the number of parents who have been coming to us with kids, showing symptoms of irritability, school withdrawal, academic decline, difficulty in attention, and emotional changes affecting their mood. Sleep withdrawal, sleep issues are due to increased screen time, leading to a lot of challenges in being able to reduce their screen time or time spent on games or otherwise, overall screen usage," said Tanwar, who is also the head of the Fortis School Mental Health Program at Fortis Healthcare.

She advised that parents should keep an eye on the behavioural symptoms, especially when their child is increasingly isolated and spending more and more time on gaming at the risk of even their academic schooling, studying, eating, sleeping, and meeting their friends.

“Despite the parent trying to stop the child, the child still ends up feeling a sense of urge, a higher need to continue to keep gaming and an inability to stop their urge to be on it," she said.

The expert said prolonged gaming often becomes an unhealthy coping mechanism. “When a lot of time is being spent on online gaming, it tends to affect their mood…children sometimes also tend to use this as a means of unhealthy coping," she added.

Similarly, Dr Vinodh Sreeram, senior psychiatrist at Maarga Mind Care, said the Ghaziabad incident reflects a disturbing national trend visible in the clinical practice as well.

“We have seen a tremendous increase in online and digital addiction cases at Maarga in the last few years since Covid-19. Internet connections exploded from 63 crore in 2021 to nearly 97 crore by 2024, fuelling a surge in digital addiction among youth, along with increased loneliness and lifestyle changes, with the Economic Survey 2026 warning of severe impacts on mental health, productivity, and sleep, especially via smartphones (85%+ households), social media, gaming, and OTT," Dr Sreeram said. “The tragedy that took place highlights the seriously alarming rise in youth mental health problems… Isolation, technology overuse, and sudden behavioural changes must be considered as warning signs and not stages."

Dr Sreeram pointed to a sharp rise in deaths by suicide. “With a drastic rise in mental health-related causes in the past few years, the suicide rate in India has increased from 10.2 per 1,00,000 in 2018 to 12.4 in 2022," he said.

WHAT SHOULD PARENTS DO?

Tanwar stressed on the need for active parental engagement and school-level interventions. “Parents need to be able to monitor what kind of games children are playing… Media literacy is a skill where children are taught in schools about how to manage their screen time better and how to practice digital detox," she said.

She said the inability to reduce gaming is a medical issue, not a sign of defiance. “When you see some of these signs and symptoms where the child is unable to stop gaming, it is important that you recognise that this is not out of the child’s control and you need to seek help from a mental health expert," she added.

Dr Sudhir Kumar from Apollo Hospitals, Hyderabad, believes that “the internet is powerful, but unsupervised use can be dangerous. Protecting children today means being involved, not permissive".

He advised that parents should delay giving smartphones to young children and, if giving, they must “set strict screen-time limits and actively supervise what their children watch and who they interact with online".

“Keeping open, non-judgmental conversations is critical and seeking professional help early – not waiting – can save lives," Dr Kumar said.

WHAT DOES GLOBAL RESEARCH SAY?

Global research has repeatedly warned about the psychological harm linked to excessive gaming. The World Health Organization has officially recognised “gaming disorder" as a mental health condition in its ICD-11 classification, citing impaired control, prioritising gaming over daily life, and continuation despite negative consequences.

Also, several studies published in the medical journal, The Lancet Psychiatry, have linked problematic gaming among adolescents to higher risks of depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts, especially when digital engagement replaces real-world social interaction. The research by the American Psychological Association has similarly found that excessive gaming can disrupt sleep patterns, emotional regulation and impulse control in young minds.

Most recently, the Economic Survey echoes these findings in India, warning that rising screen time and online gaming addiction are contributing to emotional distress, attention problems and worsening mental health outcomes among children and teenagers.

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