A team led by associate professor Vladan Starcevic at the Psychological Medicine Department of Nepean Hospital in Sydney surveyed almost 2000 computer-game players aged 14 and above and found 156 responded differently to the questions they posed, and appeared to have a problem.

But people spending longer than they planned playing games might not be an indicator of a problem. "You can become engrossed in a good book and time flies by and before you know it you have spent an hour longer reading than you intended."
Part of the stigma associated with "addiction" to video games is because of the perception they are a "waste of time" or even damaging to social skills or that they incite violence, he says.
"There is a sinister connotation that addiction to video games has. A lot of the research as to the long-term effects is inconclusive, but nobody is concerned about someone who spends a lot of time reading."
"The issue was whether people were neglecting other aspects of their life, he says. "Ultimately, it comes down to the individual and their situation whether or not it is a problem. People have to weigh up the priorities in their lives and how they want to spend their time.
There are incidences where adults have become so engrossed with something they start neglecting their children. That is less about video games and more about the irresponsibility of those people and the addictive nature of humans in general."