Razorteets you are correct.  Went too far on that booze / drug comparison :P.  

It's really up to a person to live their life how they want.  If it be playing games all day thats fine. Just dont let it interfere with your loved ones or real friends.  Choosing a fictional game over them is warning enough that its becoming an addiction.  My friend who went thru that 2 year ordeal went that path.  Wed ask him to come out and he 'd always say no.  He told me after that it was a huge obsession.   

Games are just easy to get addicted too.  Pop it in, sit down, and click / type away.  Anyone that  is going thru a depressive state in their life can get sucked in very quickly :(.

Some types of people can become addicted to anything. Instead of blaming it on the games  those involved should look into taking care of the person instead.

Well the issue of whether or not a 15 yr old plays God of War is not really up to the M-rating, it's up to the parent.  Problem is many parents are getting lazy and don't want to DO any parenting so when things go wrong it's not THEIR fault it must but that game their kid been playing.  Some try to say they just "don't have the time" and I say Bulls**t, it's your kid so you MAKE time.  If your job has more priority than your child you shouldn't of had him in the 1st place and you need to rethink your priorities.

Plus as other posters said, Golf could be included in the article's "definition" of addiction.  They hang around other golfers, they spend hundreds (if not thousands) of dollars on clubs, they pay to play golf on special courses, they will sneak out of the house or skip work to play golf, etc.  So they are addicted to golfing and we should start Golfers Anonymous quick!  

Originally posted by Stradden

The Star Ledger, a newspaper out of New Jersey ran an article today on Gaming addiction. The article tells the story of a 13 year old EverQuest player who, when he had his computer taken away, smashed the window of the locked room his mother had placed the computer in.

The short article goes on to talk about a report from the American Medical Association on the subject.

The American Medical Association has called for research to determine whether the obsession with such games could be considered a new condition -- video game addiction.

The request, adopted by the association yesterday, was not as aggressive as an original AMA report asking that such a disorder be included in future issues of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, used by all psychiatrists.

The final decision will be up to the American Psychiatric Association, which publishes the manual and will review all research before rendering a decision. The next version of the manual is scheduled to be published in 2012.

Read the story here.

Thank you for the heads up!

BTW, The Bergen Record  www.bergenrecord.com/  is a much better NJ paper than the Star Ledger. 

What makes NJ, USA soo special is that it's the state where the highst number of the richest, Americans live. Especially in Bergen County. (Yes, there are more rich people in this area than even Hollywood, and other areas of California, Texas, and Florida. Talking about number of rich people.)

 Next, and SADLY..... it looks like the parents are TOO LAZY to parent. They are looking for something to blame for having trouble with their teen son, sooo let's find a way to diagnose him with a condition. Then put him on pills. Problem solved. TOOO many parents don't know how to parent, don't WANT TO LEARN how to parent. Instead they just want to take the "problem" kid to the doctor, have the doctor perscribe some medication, and inta-solve the problem - put the kid on perscription pills.

 The kid in the article threw his grandmother down the stairs?!?

  No mention of the father anywhere in the story. I'm sorry, but only a man, or male father figure, can raise a boy to be a man. A boy cannot use a woman to model himself after on the correct way to be a man. It's genetic, it's cultural, it's common sence. If that boy did have a dad, no way he'd act that way. If he had a father figure (an uncle, priest, family friend, etc....) it would be the next best thing.

 In a way, this kid is acting llike the kid in this thread:

http://mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/thread/136270/page/1

 Kids are not BORN this way. That 13 year old gamer in this thread was not playing EQ inside his mother's womb, and born with a keyboard in his hand.

     - BEFORE a couple get married, they need to realize boyfriend and girlfriend are DIFFERENT than husband and wife. A marriage is WORK. Yes there are rewards, but it's still work. It takes effort from both parties.

    - BEFORE a couple has kids, they need to realize a kid is WORK. You don't wait until the kid becomes a problem then throw your hands up and take him to the doctor. You have to give a kid constant attention from birth until they leave home. (Age 18? Age 21?).

Before that dumb mother and grandmother purchased a PC for the kid, to use in his own room, they should have layed down the law. "IF you want a computer, it must be in the family area. It can only be used after school after you have FIRST done your homework. It can only be used for 2 hours." Or only for 3 hours. Or only used for gaming only on weekends. "If schoolgrades go down, no more computer." Do this BEFORE buying the computer. WRITE it all down, have the kid sign it. (Give him experience on reading, agreeing, and signing, contracts.)

Another idea, have the kid get a JOB. If he's 13, have him wash the family car, wash the dishes, do the laundry, vacume the rug. Pay him a weekly allowance for it. Have him save and pay half the cost of the computer. If he lags in his duties, no allowance, and no more computer.

 It amazes me how clueless many parents are when it comes to raising a kid. How many parents don't UNDERSTAND that you have to watch, observe, TALK, to kids starting from birth. And do it regularly. Have 1 hour a day as family time. Go for a walk, to the park. Play cards. Everyone washing the car together. Etc....

     I want to add, even more SADLY.... because of those dumb parents, their family situation now potientially AFFECTS THE REST OF US!!??!!

 They have set in motion yet another attack on the computer industry, gaming industry. And me, everyone here at mmorpg.com, and gamers on the internet, need to yet again - come together and make sure this case does not gain momentum and negativly affect the gaming industry.

 Imagine parents everywhere being empowered to take their gaming kids to the doctor, gettting a medication perscription, and putting their gamer kids on meds??!!??

 Imagine parents getting new laws passed, requiring ID to buy games, And HEAVILY FINING gamestores that sell to "underage" gamers? Or passing new laws to further go after gaming companies, and stores??!!

 IF the medical community gets it's way, it'll have yet another cash cow - meds for a "new illness"!!??

A whiny newspaper article about poor parenting. That on-line games are involved is only a small point.   

Some people should not have kids.

I can see it now, gaming gets declared an addiction or mental illness...

You get hired at a new job...

"Does your company's health care cover playing too much WoW?"

LOL or they ask if you play an mmorpg on an application. If  you say yes then they throw it in the trash because you are labelled as mental.