It's not that the games are bad," said Gentile. "It's not that the games are addictive. It's that some kids use them in a way that is out of balance and harms various other areas of their lives."
It is estimated that 88 percent of young people in the U.S. play video games, indicating that up to three million could be showing signs of addiction. The gamers in the study showed addiction-like symptoms ranging from lying to family and friends about how much they play games and using the games to escape their problems to becoming restless or irritable when they stop playing. For some, video game play affected their academic performance and commitment to spending time with family and friends.