... "Mum forced me to come. They took away my computer and pocket money, so I had no choice."
Just to show I'm an equal-opportunity blogger when it comes to trashy tabloids (Mail excepted, obviously), The Daily Mirror says it's "the first newspaper to be allowed inside the Dutch clinic to talk to some of the youngsters who are there to try and kick their habit."
Health experts at the clinic have found that computer game addicts -- or "gamers" -- show the same symptoms as those hooked on drugs. They spend hours alone, drop out of school, fall out with friends and become aggressive if anyone tries to take their "drug" away.
One 21-year-old patient here admits he was so addicted to his gaming that he started peeing in a bottle to avoid the interruption of going to the loo.
On its site, the Smith & Jones clinic says it is "running a special survival camp [for games addicts] from July 10 - July 24 in Holland and the forests of Germany. This camp is the first of its kind in the world." So maybe the Mirror article will drum up some business.
Comment: Next, of course, Rockstar will be doing a game based on surviving a games addict survival camp, which Smith & Jones will be selling from its drop-in treatment centres on Second Life and World of Warcraft. Or something.
