Paris: Hundreds of video games players, most of them adolescent boys, are in fierce competition with each other in Paris for the e-sport World Championship. But is Internet gaming becoming a serious addiction?
The youngsters in Paris make up the world's best video game players. They get together once a year to compete in this electronic sport. But as one gamer explains, they never want to take a break from it.
Says a video game addict, Tim, "I get an adrenaline kick from it - from shooting persons in the head, shooting people with sniper rifles - that kind of thing and I always want to get better."
Addiction consultant Keith Bakker, who works at a video games detox center says this adrenaline kick coupled with a game that prompts one to get better every time is precisely what makes it dangerous.
"In a computer game and especially the multi-player games, you never win. There is no winning because the games are designed to keep you locked in for hours. You just level up every time," explains Bakker.
Although experts are still debating whether excessive gaming qualifies as an addiction, Bakker decided not to wait around for a verdict and set up the privately financed video games detox centre.
"I believe - and this is my personal opinion - that gaming is the greatest danger to people up to the age of 21, which has ever ever come along the path of humanity," says Bakker.
Countries like Korea and China with large gaming communities are campaigning to address the issue of online addiction with game operators.
For Europe, Bakker seems to have taken the first step in tackling this issue.
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