Gaming addiction. Something a lot of people are all too familiar with. It's defined as "extreme use of computer and video games that interferes with daily life". Let me give you a scenario here:
A young teenage boy of about fifteen, let's call him, uhhhh... Humphrey! Okay, well, Humphrey wakes up every morning and, without hesitation, turns on his PS3 and starts playing Skyrim or Call of Duty until his mother must insist force Humphrey off of that wretched console of his. He then goes to school absolutely itching to get back on his computer or console all day and play something like, Diablo 3 or maybe even Slender. Humphrey just can't stop thinking about getting back onto that PS3 and start shootin' some zombies in the head with an AK74U with extended mags on CoD: Black Ops, or getting revenge on that noob that stole his kill that morning. The point is, Humphrey got himself addicted to gaming and now he can't get out. He has an uncontrollable compulsion to play video games. He doesn't own the games anymore, the games own him.
But of course, not all people who play video games are addicts. A lot of people play video games for only a few hours per week and successfully balance their school activities, get good grades, hang with their friends and family and other "normal kid" stuff.
Gaming addiction is not yet (keyword here is "yet") officially a diagnosable disorder by the American Medical Association, but it is still a problem. It's real, it's here, it's happening right now - maybe it's even happening to someone around you. The point is, be aware of it in the people around you - and maybe even yourself - 'cause let's face it, who wants to be like Humphrey over there obsessing over his "kill : death" ratio.
Symptoms in teens:
http://www.video-game-addiction.org/symptoms-computer-addiction-teens.html
Symptoms in adults:
http://www.video-game-addiction.org/internet-addictions-adults.html
Sources:
Website Title: Video game addiction
URL: http://www.video-game-addiction.org/
Date retrieved: 17/09/2012
Website Title: Video Game Addiction - Wikipedia
URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_addiction
Date retrieved: 17/09/2012