Article September 20, 2010 Issue

YOU CAN OVERCOME VIDEO GAME ADDICTION

BY MARK SWINNEY

Obsessed with video games? There's a way out, and it's easier than you might think. Willpower isn't reliable, but God's power is.

Video games have come a long way since Pong and Space Invaders. Today's games are complex, exciting, and require a degree of skill to play well. Most people who play video games don't have a problem with them. Even if someone becomes obsessed with a new game for a while, their lives are generally in balance. But a growing group of people have lost that balance and are suffering because of it.

Video-game addiction has been around for a while, yet it doesn't draw much media attention. Younger people seem particularly at risk, though plenty of adults are affected, too. What starts off as innocent fun begins to detract from the quality of an active life.