by Bill Todd

Created on: December 09, 2009   Last Updated: December 11, 2009

Video game addiction is very real. Take it from someone who was addicted to an MMO called Everquest.

However, where does one draw the line? I haven't played EQ for years, but my wife would be the first to tell you I'm still addicted to games in general.

Regardless of the signs, you have to take two things into consideration:

1. How old is the person in question?

2. Does that person care in the least about their situation?

You, as an observer, may have some control over question #1. EX: Kids shouldn't be playing MMOs. They simply take too much time to play, time that should be spent doing homework. On the other hand, if the person is a working adult, then it's their choice.

Then there is question #2. I was a working adult. I was in a stable job and I made sure the game did not threaten it. I also never attempted to play it at work. When it came to personal relationships, well, healing in EQ takes a long time, and when you have 30 minutes between fights, that took care of that. Eating suffered, however.

Not everyone is so lucky, however. I was made to play the games. I was a loner before video games became affordable. I was attracted to the puzzles and the adventure, and I took full advantage of doing things in the game I could never do in real life. At the same time, however, I also knew that the game is still a game. It does not replace real life nor will it ever replace real life. I may prefer being in a dark room with the glow of a monitor on one side and a TV on the other, but logic says you can't stay in that room all day.

So how does one kill their addiction to a video game? Stop playing. It's that simple, but at the same time it's also that difficult. I was fortunate in that I got so completely sick of EQ's combat system (I prefer to fight alone and the system was set up to force you to team up or join a guild) that I simply got fed up and quit. Uninstalled the game and removed the disc from the drive.

This was not an easy thing to do, though. It took 2 full weeks before the urge to throw the disc back into the computer finally wore off. I have tried other MMOs since then but I've never played to that point again. I've always kept one foot in reality, and that's what gamers out there need to remember.

On the lighter side of addiction, though: How to know you're a video game addict:

You've married someone you've never laid eyes on you met in an on-line game.

You married a character from the game (an NPO).

Your family logs into the game to

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