The Bottom Line

Issue date: 12/13/06 Section: The AT Wire

There have been times where I've spent a lot of time playing video games. For example, when I used to play Diablo II on my old G3 Powerbook, I would play for anywhere from two to seven hours. In fact, it wasn't a time limit or the need to do something else that made me stop. The smell of burning plastic from an overheating laptop wasn't very appealing, and after a while it just became unbearable. According to my Xfire profile, an instant messenger client for gamers that also records the amount of hours of video games played, I've played fourteen hours of video games in the past seven days. That's two hours of video games every night of the week. Am I addicted? Do I have a problem? Would I be a candidate for one of these treatment centers?

So this holiday season, whether you're playing with your brand new Wii remote or firing up that $600 Playstation 3, be aware of your parents' behaviors. In an age where video games are the scapegoat for school shootings, drug addiction, academic failure, and social alienation, you never know who may think you have an "addiction." Enjoy those wilderness excursions.

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