It all depends on your definition of addiction.

Obvious medical conclusion is obvious.

should i turn off my computer and get a life?
..hell no!

@Squawk* sorry

It's not an addiction. It's a lack of personal responsibility and self control. These people are just looking for an excuse to blame anything other than themselves.

Just the same as someone is "addicted" to TV, or films.

Also inb4 someone flames "IRONEE" at last statement.

I've long said I've been addicted to the vidya. Staying up until 4 am when I've got networking class at 8 the next day (Or rather the same day). But I don't honestly think I'm addicted. I'm just extremely irresponsible.

No one is really addicted. At least not in the same sense as a junkie is to crack.

Yeesh. I like that the media is spending so much time and effort to raise awareness for the scourge that is videogame addiction. Videogame addiction, or VGA, can lead to mild obesity, decreased social interactions (IRL, only) eye strain, and increased consumption of empty-calorie snack cakes. Thank god that we're focusing on this impending crisis rather than less important "media-friendly" woes like alcoholism, surgical addition and SUV ownership.

Aren't we being a little oversensitive here? Anything can become an addiction. I can become addicted to bacon, or fapping to Marge Simpson rule 34, or even Jim Sterling -- and it's certainly possible to become addicted to gaming. I don't see that there's anything wrong with saying that.

Obviously though, it's not the games' faults. There's not necessarily anything addictive in their nature, it's just a matter of people not exercising self-control.

@ Jim

I agree completely. I got hooked on IV heroin real bad about a year and a half ago. I stayed hooked for about 6 months or so and eventually ended up in a half way house to kick.

When I stayed at the half way house, I brought my Xbox 360 over there and spent many hours playing it (maybe 2 or 3 a day). Eventually, I got sick of all the games I had and let this crack head borrow it for a while. Now this guy went fucking nuts with it. Every moment of every day he spent playing the goddamn thing. I mean constantly. He played that thing like he was chasing a rock or something, alright? But let me tell you something - I wouldnt for even a moment say that he was 'addicted' to video games. It was just something for him to hide behind and keep his mind occupied. And that is not what addiction is. A real addiction is much more complicated than that.

And by the way, addiction is not a disease (in my opinion).

Thanks Jim. I knew you'd find a crack in their armour. yes, there are ACTUAL doctors that claim gaming is addictive (please look at the article about the Italian kid who went into seizures after playing a "marathon" of playstation. Not to menton the new Vietnamese and Chinese centers to "cure" such addictions.) It's not Sonys fault. The kid and his parents did not heed the warning about extended play (Did they read the manual?). Even some games being made these days have warning within the game (see MGS4).
Here's the wiki on it, braulio09: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_addiction

I believe that the Doctors in Amsterdam have real insight into why this is a problem. I agree.. it's a social problem, not an addiction problem. I do like that Jim mentions alcoholism as a mirror to this subject.
Alcoholism is NOT a disease. It's a CHOICE. You chose to drink. You don't wake up one day and get the Alcoholic disease out of nowhere, you aren't born with it and it has nothing to do with genetics. You chose to drink the first drink and every one thereafter.

Leave it to the potheads to uncover that this is actually BS. Personally I believe that it's a self control issue. I have enough control to pry my sweaty, shaking, game addicted hands off of the controller to do some work for my college courses.

I guess it's another case of people thinking that they aren't responsible for their own actions.

@Jim
I'm not saying that it's ever medical. I don't think addictions have to be medical though, right? Wouldn't you agree that it's possible to become addicted to games, for people to "need" to play them on a frequent basis? I mean, one needs only look towards WoW for evidence of that. I've had some close brushes with it, myself. Much like Marky Mark, I have an addictive personality.

A doctor that knows what he's doing, fascinating!