I read this case study and discussion of a young man with MMORPG addiction in the American Journal of Psychiatry written by a few psychiatrists with experience in this area (no pun intended). One of their conclusions is that MMORPGs cannot truly be considered "addictive" since they do service a social need of people who may have underlying social anxiety problems. It's definitely worth a read.
Allison, SE et al. The Development of the Self in the Era of the Internet and Role-Playing Fantasy Games. Am J Psychiatry 2006 163: 381-385
http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/1 63/3/381
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I read this case study and discussion of a young man with MMORPG addiction in the American Journal of Psychiatry written by a few psychiatrists with experience in this area (no pun intended). One of their conclusions is that MMORPGs cannot truly be considered "addictive" since they do service a social need of people who may have underlying social anxiety problems. It's definitely worth a read. Allison, SE et al. The Development of the Self in the Era of the Internet and Role-Playing Fantasy Games. Am J Psychiatry 2006 163: 381-385 http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/1 63/3/381