PUBG mania

I urge the authorities concerned to impose a complete ban on PUBG in the country

JOHI: Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds, commonly known as PUBG, is one of the most famous online games created by a South Korean firm Bluehole Inc. You will hardly find a young person who has not heard of the game. This has become a viral addiction which is increasing in our society and it looks nearly impossible to stop the hype. Various countries including Jordan and China have imposed a complete ban on playing the game. The nature of the game is quite hazardous and players only learn the idea to ‘kill or be killed’, the game has also included audio features, through which players can hear each other’s voice to guide their companions.

A few days ago, I was travelling to Karachi by public transport and on the way a young boy shouted loudly: “He is on your left, kill him … and another is coming from right, kill him too.” After a few seconds, the boy threw his phone while spewing abusive language in an aggressive mood. This childish action of the young man left strange expressions among other passengers but he didn’t realise doing anything wrong. That led me into agreeing that our generation is experiencing a PUBG mania and has fallen prey to online gamers and developers which can cause serious harm to their mental, physical, emotional and psychological growth. I request parents and teachers alike to look into the issue very closely. I also urge the authorities concerned to impose a complete ban on PUBG in the country so that the young generation can invest time in some productive activities.

Fahad Rind

Published in The Express Tribune, January 31^st, 2020.

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