Articles on "Lookholes in Vietnam's game industry management" just published by Lao Dong Newspaper point out the loopholes in the fact that 18+ games classify the age incorrectly on application stores and the situation of game shops blatantly operating overnight against regulations.
Real-world records show that the consequences do not stop at warnings. At medical facilities, more and more adolescents are hospitalized for treatment of mental disorders due to game addiction - a direct consequence of early exposure to inappropriate content and an uncontrolled gaming environment.
Even more serious cases occur when some subjects, due to game addiction, have committed criminal acts, even causing murders to have money to continue playing games.
Family tragedy when children are addicted to games
Recently, at the Institute of Mental Health (Bach Mai Hospital, Hanoi), there has always been a group of children being treated for mental health due to online game addiction. They are victims of violent or rewarding games, their brains are damaged due to exposure to harmful content when their awareness is not fully developed.
For the past few months, my grandchild has been trying every way to play games, when his parents forbid him from using a phone, he borrows phones from friends. He also lied to his parents to ask for money, borrow money from friends to deposit in games.
He refuses to study, doesn't eat, doesn't sleep, doesn't talk, doesn't exercise, just wants to lie still holding his phone to play games. When adults ask, he always shows a grumpy attitude of resistance. Most recently, he asked for money but his father didn't give it, he even beat his father. I was afraid that he was mentally ill, so I brought him down here to be hospitalized for treatment," Ms. T (58 years old, residing in Yen The commune, Bac Ninh) who is taking care of her grandson inpatient at the Institute of Mental Health shared.
Ms. T said that her family is a farmer, not well-off, and also has little social understanding. M (15 years old) is the only grandson, who used to be very obedient, good at studying, and obedient.
3 years ago, M asked to use a smartphone to study online, and the family agreed. Since then, Ms. T noticed that her grandson started neglecting his studies, holding the phone all night, refusing to eat and drink, and not wanting to communicate with anyone.
The family also saw that the child showed abnormal signs, but partly because of difficulties, partly because of lack of understanding, it has been left until now," Ms. T said sadly.
Also according to Ms. T, since after Tet until now, M's condition has become increasingly serious. At home, the child shows signs of being difficult to control, arguing with adults, refusing to eat, not sleeping, not talking or exercising. As soon as her parents take her off their eyes, M runs away, and also deceives to ask for money. Going to school, M skipped school, borrowed money from friends.
A week ago, many friends of M came to my house to demand debt, saying that M was heavily addicted to games, so he borrowed money to recharge games. When my father insisted, he even beat my father. When I asked him, he bluntly said "I bet you know" and then beat me, it was very heartbreaking" - Ms. T recounted.
After the incident, the family decided to take M to Bach Mai Hospital for examination.
Ms. T added that when learning about M's friends, the family was startled to learn that many children of the same age in the area were playing games with signs of violence or gambling.
When we arrived, the 15-year-old boy was lying on the hospital bed, thin and dry "like a stick", looking old like a married person. M was still in a state of not wanting to exercise or talk.
Specialist Doctor II Vu Van Hoai, Institute of Mental Health (Bach Mai Hospital) - who directly treated M, said that M. is a case with quite a lot of emotional and behavioral disorders caused by game addiction.
Initially, M came to games for fun, then used them more and more. Not just playing one game but many games. These games tend to be violent, shooting, rewarding, and highly addictive," said Dr. Vu Van Hoai.
Doctors added that at Bach Mai Hospital, children addicted to games are examined and comprehensively assessed for physical and mental health. Many children are severely addicted to games leading to weakness, the treatment process is difficult, requiring combination of chemotherapy, psychology, and physics.
After inpatient treatment, patients returning home need to be monitored, supported, and guided by their families and schools for long-term outpatient treatment. The process of game addiction detoxification for children can be stressful, even relapse if the living environment is not healthy.
Children are easily drawn into virtual stories in games and then cause real consequences.
Talking to a reporter of Lao Dong Newspaper, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Tuan, Director of the Institute of Mental Health (Bach Mai Hospital), Head of the Department of Psychiatry, Hanoi Medical University, Chairman of the Vietnam Psychiatric Association, said that people undergoing psychiatric treatment due to game addiction are accounting for a significant proportion in the group of mental patients and have increased rapidly in recent years.
There are always patients who are children undergoing inpatient treatment for mental disorders due to online game addiction. And for every child in the hospital, there are 3 to 4 children undergoing outpatient treatment, aged 10-19 years old, most commonly in the underage group" - Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Tuan said.
From an expert perspective, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Tuan said that each online game is only suitable for the awareness of players at a certain age.
Online games are violent and rewarding in nature, especially dangerous for adolescents. At this age, children's awareness is not complete, and children tend to find role models to learn from.
Children are not aware enough to stay away from harmful games compared to their age, and are easily drawn into virtual stories in games and then cause real consequences," said Dr. Tuan.
Dr. Tuan emphasized that children addicted to games can lead to loss of appetite, insomnia, physical weakness, and there have been cases of heart failure due to playing games continuously for a long time. Children addicted to games also have a very weak psychology, easily irritated leading to outbreaks.
Many heartbreaking murders due to game addiction
Investigating the indictment in some serious cases in recent years, Lao Dong Newspaper reporters found a common worrying point in many cases: the perpetrator showed signs of prolonged game addiction, leading to distorted behavior and loss of control.
On December 12, 2025, Gia Lai Provincial People's Court sentenced Nguyen Van Tien (born 2006) to life imprisonment for two crimes "Murder" and "Robbery".
According to the indictment, Tien has been addicted to games for many years, often asking for money but was not met, so conflicts arose with his mother.
On September 18, 2024, while weeding in the cashew garden with his mother, Tien continued to ask for money to play games but was scolded. Annoyed, the subject used a machete to slash his mother to death and then sold 5 cows and 4 goats for 45.5 million VND. After committing the crime, Tien fled to Hanoi, used the money to buy a phone, play games and spend personally.
At the court, the defendant confessed to being addicted to games from grade 6, dropping out of school from grade 10, spending 5-7 hours, or even more, each day playing games. The Trial Panel determined that Tien's actions were particularly serious, showing cruelty and disregard for the law.
Previously, in April 2021, Thanh Hoa Provincial People's Court sentenced Vu Tien Long (born 1998, Ha Trung district, Thanh Hoa province) to death for the crimes of "Murder" and "Robbery".
According to the indictment of the Thanh Hoa Provincial People's Procuracy, due to online game addiction and needing money to spend, Long killed an elderly couple to rob property. After committing the crime, the subject took the victim's phone and continued to go to a game shop.
Functional agencies determined that the criminal act was hooliganistic, particularly serious, stemming from a deviant lifestyle and indulging in games for a long time.
