This paper argues that the recent concerns about video game “addiction” have
been based less on scientific facts and more upon media hysteria. By examining the
literature, it will be demonstrated that the current criteria used for identifying this concept
are both inappropriate and misleading. Furthermore, by presenting four case studies as
examples it will be demonstrated how such claims of video game addiction can be
inaccurately applied. It is concluded that the most likely reasons that people play video
games excessively are due to either ineffective time management skills, or as a symptomatic
response to other underlying problems that they are escaping from, rather than any inherent
addictive properties of the actual games.