No matter where we come from or our walk of life, all of us reading this site have one thing in common: We have a passion for playing video games. There are plenty of healthy benefits from doing so, including making friends and expressing creativity through in-game activities. But there is the darker side of gaming in which some players can fall into addiction and lose control.
In a sobering essay in the Washington Post, the writer tells of one family whose teenage son became hooked on games and felt compelled to play them even as other areas of his life were coming undone. After violent reactions began to surface, his parents took steps to take him away from games for a time and give him specialized counseling for this issue. The story ends on a hopeful note, as their son now approaches gaming in a more balanced fashion and even wants to be a counselor to others in turn.
One psychologist quoted in the article said that the problem of video game addiction among youth is growing: “I don’t think we know exactly how many are suffering from this, but we know it’s a big problem. A modest estimate might be five percent. But five percent of American kids is a lot.”
