Rollanhagen said:
"There is not a single case of game addiction that we have worked with in which World of Warcraft has not played a part." It is the crack cocaine of the computer gaming world. Some people are literally unable to drag themselves away and will play it till they drop."The Swedish National Institute of Public Health agrees with Rollenhagen's report also saying "Computer game addiction is becoming more widespread in Sweden and across the world. There is no known medical diagnosis of conditions brought on by excessive game-playing, but it is clear they have a very powerful addictive hold over many people use [I think they meant play] them."
The foundation said in 2007 it received 2,000 calls to its addiction helpline. From that number, 170 calls were in regards to computer gaming. There was no additional detail as to what game(s) were the culprit.
Last February, a 15 year old Swedish boy playing World of Warcraft collapsed and went into convulsions. His family rushed him into the hospital where doctors diagnosed an epileptic-type seizure brought on from sleep deprivation, lack of food, and too long a stretch for concentrated game playing. The boy did make a full recovery, and now his father has launched a campaign to warn other parents of the dangers of marathon game sessions.
First of all I think the real question is, why in the hell are his parents letting him play the game that long? I mean c'mon, I don't think it takes a doctor or scientist to realise something is wrong with their kid when they're sitting on the computer for half a day or whatever. Clearly he's addicted. It's their fault for not addressing the issue sooner.
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