LONDON, Nov 22, 2008 (UPI via COMTEX) -- The new PlayStation release "World of
Warcraft" may cause more children to become addicted to video games, say doctors
at the Tavistock Center in London.
"'World of Warcraft,' and similarly intense video games, may cause socially
withdrawn children to connect only with people in the game and to withdraw even
further from social opportunities," said Richard Graham, a child psychiatrist at
Tavistock.
More than 11 million people worldwide reportedly have registered as World of
Warcraft players since the game was released this month, The Daily Telegraph
reported Saturday.
"Some of my clients will discuss playing games for 14 to 16 hours a day at times
without breaks and for those the consequences are potentially very severe,"
Graham said.
An example is 13-year-old Lorenzo Amato of Leece, Italy, who was hospitalized
when he exhibited symptoms of a stroke, couldn't speak and failed to respond to
his surroundings, the British newspaper reported.
Doctors determined Amato had been sickened by spending hours on his new
PlayStation, the Telegraph reported, noting the teenager told his family to get
rid of the computer game system. "If I even think about it I want to throw up,"
Amato was quoted as saying.
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Copyright 2008 by United Press International