Boy has his PlayStation 4 confiscated by dad, goes on mini rampage

Now, if anyone can understand “electronics rage”, it’s us gadget lovers.

I’ve defenestrated a fair number of phones courtesy of malfunctioning features in my time, and many in this office can attest to punching a monitor from time to time, but we have never gone so far as whipping out a hammer and a baseball bat and destroying our office or homes.

This 13-year-old in the Canadian town of Brantford did, and his parents called the police as a result.

We imagine having your PlayStation 4 removed from your custody is not a wholesome experience for a child of any age, but this poor chap couldn’t quite handle it. The CBC report reveals an every day scenario that didn’t quite unfold in an every day manner:

The drama started when the boy had a verbal dispute with his sibling and his parents about the use of a PlayStation 4, according to police.

The father then took the gaming system away from the boy as a punishment. That was when the boy became irate and began smashing property outside with a baseball bat, police said.

While it’s completely understandable to have guardians remove electronics from youth who spend too much time absorbed in it, it does highlight a massive pending issue with today’s society: when is too much exposure to electronics too much?

Based on a recent study by Washington D.C.-based PewResearch, around 81% of its sample of American teenagers have access to a gaming console of some kind, with teenage boys between 13 and 17 seeing that figure jump to 91%.

The boy was charged with “mischief under $5000 and possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose,” and for that five grand, he could’ve probably bought himself ten PlayStation 4s.