Ontario police turn to Xbox Live to find missing CoD4 player

Should've just let him keep his Xbox.

I believe what they did was right. If the kid freaks out just for losing a game system for a bit, somethings wrong.

Kid was feeling isolated and shit on constantly and retreated to the online world where he gained some respect. Classic internet addiction syndrome. One of the last things you do with this condition is suddenly take that away. Especially in teenage years where children are having a hard enough time fitting in.

Was something wrong with the kid? Yeah. But addiction of this matter doesn't spring up. SOMETHING has to be forcing him into that fantasy world.

Sheppy, do you have some other source of info that we don't or did you just create and entire psychological profile and condemn society from about 80 words of news?

When the kid comes home;

And now to Ollie Williams with the Blacky Weather Forecast:

HE GON GET IT.

Thank you Ollie.

"Kid was feeling isolated and shit on constantly"

More or less that is what causes most runaways. It's not unrealistic to suggest one or both of his parents are either mentally abusive or controlling in some manner. Whether they realize it or not. It's just sad it's been played like he took off because of a game console. Does anyone actually buy that?

"It's just sad it's been played like he took off because of a game console. Does anyone actually buy that?"

Yes, actually. Kids are insane, I thought we realized that by now.
I hope the kid's found soon, and then grounded forever. I mean, I don't want to find out he's dead or anything, but (assuming he DID) taking off for a game console is just sad.

No Credit for the story?

Anyways...Dumb, spoiled kid.

Okay, I don't know about u guys, but when I was 15, I had some sense of the world around me.

I mean, not to be an ass, but everyone is talking about this kid in the news and everything like he is so innocent but lets face it, 15 year olds are not that innocent. What is that? First year of high-school? Which makes it even sadder to throw a fit like that at that age, granted, the parents pretty much told the kid to leave; so he did, they got their wish.

Again, not to sound like an ass, but I find it hard to believe that he got caught up in some internet pedophilia scenario... at 15, I would have the sense to tell someone like that to fuck off me!

No offense Replica23, but your remark is reminiscent of an almost typical "gamer" reaction of "it's not the game or gamer, it's everyone else that's at fault." The theory isn't necessarily wrong, but I find it irksome on how often "it's the parents' fault" gets thrown around almost at a "knee-jerk" speed.

@why not the LS2LS7?

You're absolutely right. I have access to some secret information that you are NOT privy to. Okay, I'll share. www.google.com Welcome to the internet. Also I have personal experience as well as read many books on the subject. All in all, I've read nearly 2500 pages on the topic of internet and gaming addictions as well non chemical addictions.

Allow me to explain how this stuff works. ANYTIME a child becomes obsessed with one activity, that's a warning sign. It isn't him wanting to be good at it but rather something that he finds appealing about that world which the real world doesn't provide. Often times, this is because of social awkwardness or mental and physical abuse. In adults, it's often due to financial concerns or social concerns. Something is unbalancing that individual and forcing them to retreat.

In essence, problems don't spring up from nowhere. There is always a source or cause. So why do I know this? Because as a kid, I had the same problem thus my fascination and reading up on the problem. My mother and father were always fighting and my sister was mentally and physically abusive to me. Rather than DEAL with that shit, holy crap... here's Landstalker and I'm finding an ancient gold horde. Or I'm traveling to the moon on an airship in FFIV.

When reality sucks, people retreat from it. Sometimes it's the vices (tv, games, internet), and sometimes it's the hard stuff (alcohol, pot, meth). Nobody forms an addiction while in a happy and loving family situation. Nobody. 300+ years of psychology science teaches us this.

So for the kid to react this dramatically, SOMETHING was seriously fucking wrong with his home or school situation. After all, who wants to be the "worthless son" or "going nowhere kid" when online, in Call of Duty 4, he's part of a winning Clan that relies on him? Escapism is the root of addicton, WHAT was he escaping from?

Moving along...

what?

Yeah, how dare MS try and help find a missing child!


Fuck you, you tool. I hope you practice what you preach in your post.

calm down.. jesus. it's not like he was kidnapped. the little bitch threw a hissy fit and walked out of his house.. he's probably living in his friend's closet while he 'teaches his parents a lesson'.

I've never seen a comment so white and going by your name I assume that you're just a grumbly troll.

What's up with your frequent mentioning of the Fergie sex tape anyway?

That was one of the dumbest comments yet on Joystiq.

I laughed so hard.

Maybe they were talking about the shared photos in Halo 3? I don't know.

yeah I have no idea either. My uncle used to have playboys in his bathroom and he had 2 sons, does that make him a felon? WTF

I read it too. He meant that whoever the police question doesn't have porn because they may have either raped, molested, killed, or a combo of the three to little Brian.

so if they have porn they must have murdered him? WTF? I don't know if it's the kotaku guy who's crazy or the police

I think you're jumping the gun blaming the parents. First of all, they were paying attention to his online habits, actually that's what caused the situation.

People who are quick to blame parents are no better then those quick to blame video games.

Everything aside, I hope he makes it home safe. Thankfully we can all agree upon that.

Not true, Juno. Parents are usually the problem. If you discipline your child when they're 4, you don't have to so much when they're 13. But most parents are just lazy and inconsistent because they're too selfish and caught up in their private lives, something that good parents have no expectation of.

You cannot say that discipline is what makes the difference. Plus you have no idea how this kid was disciplined. His parents may be great parents, but this owns kid psychology. Just because you discipline a child when it is young, does not mean that the child will not grow up to be a problem child.

Maybe, Nate, but great parents usually don't go throwing video games and mob bosses under the bus after they've tormented their child into running away. In any event, I know a lot of parents, and many of them will be greatly surprised when their kid knocks some girl up at 13 or does a line of cocaine off of some dude's boner. But I won't.

Wanna know why you won this argument? The cocaine off a boner line.

And of course you are calling his parents stupid based on how many years of parenting did you say that you had. Your probably just a snotty, spoiled kids who doesn't like rules. It's not his parents fault - ultimately your are responsible for your own actions. Eventually you kids will figure that out when their is noone there to bail you out - like your parents.....

Reality,
Normally I resist the urge go off on people, but your entire argument was one of the dumbest fucking things I've ever read. And no, I'm not just talking about the moronic spelling and grammatical errors.

So, because I argue that most parents fail to discipline their children, you deduce that I'm a snotty kid who doesn't like rules? Brilliant! Truly, you are the Sherlock Holmes of the internet!

And I never said anything against people being responsible for their own decisions. However, if you don't discipline your kids they'll - wait for it - probably make terrible decisions!

And finally, how many years of parenting experience do you have? Seriously. I've only got a whole 3 days, but I have 26 years of not being an idiot under my belt; experience I doubt you can match.

To Juno:

The parents started the problem by getting a 15 year old kid a 17+ game.

Gamers make gamers look stupid. This little kid is just making little kids look stupid.

and this little kid is a gamer. Do the math.

*whoosh*

Nobody blamed your precious games.

Actually, follow the news, Bowser. They were blaming the video games since day 1. Hell, they are still blaming the games.

Fact of the matter is, these parents are pointing fingers everywhere except themselves is is actually the exact opposite of what real parents do when their kids run away.

Something about this entire mess screams Joan-Bennet Rhamses to me.

hell, for $25,000 i would drive to ontario to look for him.

Only if I can set you on fire first.

OHHHHHH YEEEAAAAAAHHHH


I can't believe I'm the first to say that... You sadden me Joystiqerz

Wood? Stupid assisted typing. Meant woot