Loading... Is there such thing as a video game addiction? If so, tell me about it. If not, then how can one get so hooked?

Learn about video game addiction, the facts about video game addiction, and how people become addicted to video games. keep reading →

Yes, there are cases of video game addiction.

But... it's really important to recognise that the term video game addiction has been terribly overused to the point where it's now used to demonize the games and gamers. It's also having the effect of marginalising those players with a real problem.

These days if a gamer comes home from work or school and sits in front of a game for the next few hours, the common consensus is that he or she is a video game addict.

That in itself doesn't mean that someone is addicted. After all, many people come home and watch several hours of television, or read for hours (unfortunately this hobby occurs less and less these days) or spends a lot of time on another past-time. We don't refer to these people as addicts, so why do we refer to those whose hobby is gaming as addicts?

Yes there are video game addicts. Folks with strong compulsions to play a game at the expense of all else. Fortunately, they are rarer than is being reported. And for those rare individuals, help is needed rather than derision.

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