Video game addiction definitely exists, and I am victim to many of those things. To anyone that says it doesn't exist, either stop being ignorant or stop denying that you too might be addicted. Although I would say that I play a lot less than I used to with being in college and all, I still find that sometimes I go on these ridiculous runs where for weeks I will play a ton, and then the next few weeks won't play at all. I think video game addiction starts with confidence. I am one of those people where on the outside I pretend to be confident, but on the inside I truly am not. I find many problems in my social life that I simply won't acknowledge publicly, and keeping it inside doesn't help at all. But I think all these problems start before video games. A lack of self confidence forces a person to confide in something they think they are good at, and if it's video games, something that's VERY competitive and lots of people can be good at, that's when that person is in danger of becoming addicted to games. It's the same with people who work out all the time, and even go to take steroids to get bigger. Getting bigger makes them feel stronger and more comfortable. It's the same concept, and sucks, but it happens. Video games aren't the culprit, it's the lack of self confidence that kids develop as they grow up. EDIT: And the reason it will always be a problem is it's hands on, unlike television or the internet, and the competitive nature of people makes them want to be better. If they are better than they feel more confident, and I don't care who you are, everyone wants a sense of confidence in themselves, it just depends on how it you go about doing that. Anything in which you interact and progress in will always have this problem in one way or another, and the way society portrays gamers, as opposed to say athletes, makes the situation even worse.