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Aussie teen headbutts his mum for trying to stop him playing Fortnite, leaves her with concussion

September 3, 2018

Dr Vladimir Poznyak of WHO tells Breakfast the reasons why gaming addictions have been declared a Mental Health Condition.

A teenage boy who is addicted to the video game Fortnite left his mum with concussion after headbutting her for trying to take away his PS4.

The mother of 14-year-old Logan Ford, Britta Hodge, told Australia's 60 Minutes her son is constantly playing Fortnite, only leaving his room to eat or use the bathroom.

If the school holidays meant kids at your place are vying for time on the couch you’re not alone.

The Sydney teenager's addiction is so severe he stopped attending school over two years ago and Ms Hodge has been assaulted and forced to call the police if she attempts to remove Logan's games console.

"It's not as simple as taking the cord away and going, 'Oh well, bad luck, you haven't got the internet'.

"Because the repercussions from that – angry, aggressive – we've had to call the police. I have been headbutted, I've had concussions," Ms Hodge told 60 Minutes.

However, Logan wasn't always this way his mum explained.

"He's completely different. I miss my boy," she told 60 Minutes. "I keep on saying to him, 'I miss the boy I used to have.' It's not the boy I know.

"I mean, he'd be the one to hook up his fishing rod, would be the first to go camping, or play soccer. Now I can't get him outside.

"An addiction is an addiction. It doesn't matter if it's drugs, sex or online gaming. We've been to doctors who have said 'I don't think we've seen such a chronic case'."

Critics of Ms Hodge's parenting skills were quick to voice their opinion on 60 Minutes social media pages.

"You are the one who brought them the console, you are the one who introduced them to video games in your home, you are the one who buys them the games and allows them to play them," one woman posted.

"You are the problem. Stop trying to blame video games for your lack of parenting," wrote another.

Logan told 60 Minutes he used video games as a coping mechanism during his parents' marriage breakdown.

Gaming addiction was listed as a mental health condition for the first time by World Health Organisations earlier this year. 

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