When Virtual Coins Cost Real Lives
The rope around 14-year-old Yash Kumar’s neck told a story that no parent should ever have to read. In the suffocating silence of his Lucknow home, this Class 6 student had become the latest casualty in India’s escalating war against predatory mobile gaming apps, a war where the weapons are psychological manipulation, and the victims are children barely tall enough to reach kitchen counters.
Yash had lost ₹13-14 lakh from his father’s life savings to Free Fire through in-app purchases over just one month, money his father Suresh Kumar had earned by selling their agricultural land to build a home. When confronted, the weight of financial devastation crushed this young mind into choosing permanent escape over temporary shame.
Yash’s tragedy isn’t isolated,it’s symptomatic of a nationwide epidemic. In Madhya Pradesh’s Indore, another 13-year-old ended his life after losing ₹2,800 in Free Fire, while in Delhi’s Nangloi, a 10-year-old boy addicted to video games died by suicide in July 2025. A 15-year-old in Haryana’s Kurukshetra district took his own life near railway tracks after his family stopped him from playing mobile games.
These aren’t mere statistics,they represent a generation caught in digital quicksand, where every swipe, every purchase, every “next level” draws them deeper into financial and psychological ruin.
The age range of10 to 15 years, reveals gaming companies’ most vulnerable target demographic. Child psychology experts recognize this as the critical period when reward-seeking behaviour peaks while impulse control remains underdeveloped. Gaming apps exploit this neurological immaturity through sophisticated manipulation techniques: variable reward schedules that mirror gambling addiction patterns, social pressure through leaderboards, and most insidiously, in-app purchases disguised as “character enhancement” or “power-ups.”
Children like Yash don’t see themselves spending real money,they’re collecting “gems” or “coins” in a fantasy world where consequences seem reversible. The dopamine-driven feedback loops created by these games hijack developing brains, creating addiction pathways before children understand what’s happening to them.
The Nepal Paradox
Yet the story takes an unexpected turn across India’s northern border. Nepal’s Gen Z activists recently used Discord, a gaming chat app, to elect Sushila Karki as their interim Prime Minister,marking the first time in electoral democracy that a nation’s leader was chosen through a gaming platform. Discord’s unique features helped amplify young voices, making it a central hub for democratic activism.
This remarkable contrast illuminates a crucial truth: technology isn’t inherently destructive,its impact depends entirely on guidance, purpose, and adult oversight. While Indian children fall victim to predatory gaming algorithms, Nepali youth harness the same technology for democratic participation.
Building Digital Safeguards: A Collective Responsibility
Recognizing this crisis, the government has responded with the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Bill, 2025, which aims to curb gambling via online games while promoting safe gaming platforms such as eSports. Cybersecurity and child welfare agencies continue raising awareness campaigns calling for stricter controls on underage access to such apps and better monitoring by caregivers.
Yet more decisive action remains essential. India urgently needs comprehensive regulations treating in-app purchases involving minors as gambling, requiring strict age verification and spending limits. Immediate steps include implementing spending caps on accounts linked to minors, mandatory cooling-off periods for in-app purchases, and requiring parental consent for any transaction above ₹100.
This heartrending incident reminds us how digital advances can sometimes outpace social safeguards, leaving vulnerable children at risk of financial and emotional harm. Parents must recognize that modern parenting now includes digital literacy, understanding app permissions, monitoring screen time, and creating technology-use contracts with children. Schools should integrate digital wellness into curricula, teaching children to recognize manipulation techniques.
It is imperative to blend vigilance with empathy. Parents, educators, mental health professionals, and policymakers must work together to educate and protect children from the hidden dangers of gaming addiction. Financial literacy for both parents and youth, open family conversations, and robust regulatory frameworks can foster a safer digital environment.
The Nepal example proves that with proper channelling, digital platforms can empower rather than exploit young minds. While technology offers countless benefits, we must not overlook its potential to impact young lives adversely. The difference lies not in the technology, but in whether we guide our children toward constructive engagement or abandon them to algorithmic predators dressed as harmless games.
Until we act decisively, more children like Yash will choose rope over redemption, leaving behind families shattered by a tragedy that was entirely preventable.
About The Author
