I think, when you get right down to the bottom of it, it depends on the person. I was unaware of a WOWdetox website, thank you for pointing that out Dannik52... I guess it all just depends on the person. To sum up everything everyone has said... It varies for each and every one of us- There is probably a slight addiction everyone has. Chemical or Non-chemical... (TV, food, etc.) But it is up to US to decide what is right for ourselves.

Hydrolix do you know this from a Pyschologist or Chemist point of view? I know for a fact my girlfriends brother was kicked off the navy for being addicted to gambling. They would have gotten him help if he was addicted to heroine or a chemical drug. But since there wasn't a chemical they just kicked him off. invictuslemming is on the right track, lets say a person is addicted to drugs and there life was crashing before them. You see them on the streets. Lets say someone is addicted to video games, where do you see them later? If they realize they have a problem they will stop. For example, if you are married and you play WOW all day and totally ignore your wife, and she has had enough and says: "Get rid of that game or our marriage is over" What do you think he'll do? If he truly loves his wife he'll snap the disc in front of her and say he's done for good. I used to play Diablo 2 for such a long time until I finally realized one night... What am I doing? And stopped playing the next day. I had no physical symptoms that made me want to play that game again. So Hydrolix I believe YOU are wrong, and invictuslemming is correct.

darkdone2... I feel the exact same way about video games as you do. I'm not addicted or anything, but your view on the whole "blame video games for murders" is dead on (no pun intended). I just hate how there's those crazy mothers out there or single women who are 46 or something like that, that all group together and say that video games are the reason why kids are so bad. ITS BAD PARENTING!!!! My sister is taking psychology and this is a test she's heard of. They take 2 people, put them in seperate rooms and play different games. One is playing Mortal Kombat the other is playing something a lot easier and calmer (not sure what it was let's say Pac Man). Now after playing these games for an hour or so they put them in a room with another person. Then they have a test, you push a buzzer if you know the right answer and it tally's up your points. Now if its something like this the person will KNOW they will win simply by keeping track of the amount of times they have pushed the button. Here's the catch, THEY LOSE NO MATTER WHAT, and they want to see the reaction if its violent (Mortal Kombat player) or calm and mature (Pac Man player). Now the true thing here, is that video games are no different then reading or watching TV. You watch shows on television that are about psychotic killers and torturers... and it always says BAD PARENTING or DISTURBED CHILDHOOD... You simply CAN'T blame video games for something like this. A video game addiction isn't quite addiction. If you like reading books are you addicted to reading books? If you like watching TV are you addicted to that as well? I feel its simply something you like to do, and an addiction should HAVE to have a chemical dependency. I sort of went on a rant about the killing thing and I apologize for going off topic, but darkdone02 brough up a very good point that I really enjoy discussing. People who play video games 10 hours a day or whatever, playing WOW or some other MMORPG... that is the majority of theie social life. They don't go out and watch tv with there friends or go hang out as often as people who don't play MMORPG's. I could be wrong here, but I'm just stating what I believe. From experience I know lots of guys that have played WOW and done this exact thing. They avoid the "real world" because they feel successful in the video game and accepted through other players. It's not an addiction it's something they enjoy doing over everything else in there life. Which is really really sad... (I could probably keep going but I'd rather not, it's too long as is).

Oh I should also say that the Navy example I used was based on a true story, my girlfriends brother is addicted to gambling but they wouldn't get him help so they just kicked him off. If he was addicted to a drug they would have payed to have him sent to Detox (or whatever it is called).

It may be a form of addiction, but there is no chemical dependency. For instance, if someone were to join the Navy and have an addiction to Heroine (or any other chemical drug) the Navy will pay for the treatment to get this person off of it. BUT if the person is addicted to gambling, they kick them off the Navy. Since there is no chemical dependency it is thought that it is not an addiction because there is no checmical urge or dependency. I don't believe you can be addicted to playing video games, some people may play video games a lot, but what if they were watching television instead? Would they be addicted to watching television? There may be some extremists that are addicted to playing video games, but its like watching TV. When the cable is down you'll find something else to do. (I did not read the full article so I could be wrong about some things).