Computer game addiction has become a major problem in our society, since many children and teenagers play

an excessive amount of hours of computer games a day and develop countless problems such as violent behavior and social isolation. In the past, not many people really cared about computer games being violent, it was not a hot topic as it is today. But within the past few years, with games becoming more realistic and violent, there have been certain acts of violence committed by individuals who have been known to play such games. As an example, in China a 13 years old boy killed himself after playing for 36 hours straight. The boy left a suicide note saying he wanted to join the heroes of the game he worshiped. Guilty pleasures like video games, television, and candy are tolerable when done in moderation. The problem with computer games is that unless they are controlled or limited, they can endanger not only one's social life ,but also one's health. Those who believe games containing violent gameplay and images are to blame for some murders would often assume that because of gun crime in some countries, like USA, has gone up during the time these games have been around. The way some see it is that if a child sees and plays games that contain, for example gang violence from a young age, then the child may be more likely to think of such things as acceptable. As an example, the game "Counter-Strike" became a huge hit when I was little. This computer game promoted violence ever since the beginning. The first thing you do when you enter the game is to choose, whether you want to be a terrorist or a police officer and then you can choose how to kill your opponent and the weapon you want to murder your enemy with. Playing violent computer games can increase a person's aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behavior according to studies. For example, on April 20, 1999, 18-year-old Eric Harris and 17-year-old Dylan

Klebold killed 12 students and a teacher in the Columbine High School Massacre with a gun that looks exactly alike their favorite one from the game "Counter-Strike". The two students were obsessed by the game that offers them an arena of weapons, killings, kicking, stabbing, and shootings, which is exactly the reason why they confused reality with fantasy. Another downside of the computer games is the total waste of time. This excessive time consumed on computer games is time that could have been spent doing homework, playing sports, or even being with friends. Furthermore, wasting hours a week playing computer games endangers an individual's chances of achieving their full potential. A teen who possesses the intelligence and talent to become a future Nobel Prize winner may have to settle as an ordinary science teacher because he wasted too much time gaming when he was a child. This waste of talent hurts not only the individual, but also society as a whole.

When time spent on the computer, playing computer games or cruising the Internet reaches a point that it harms a child's or adult's family and social relationships, or disrupts school or work life, that person may be caught in a cycle of addiction. Like other addictions, the computer or video game has replaced friends and family as the source of a person's emotional life. To feel good, the addicted person spends more time playing video games or searching the Internet. An example is found in Munich, Germany where a 17 year-old boy named Daniel Petric shot his parents in the head after they took away his copy of 'Halo 3.' His mother was killed and his father wounded due to the gunshots, and the troubled teen escaped the crime scene with only one item in his hands: the 'Halo 3' game. Petric may exemplify one extremely severe and uncommon case, but there are countless adolescents in our nation suffering from video game addiction.

The statistics shows that 95 % of the children nowadays play computer games in their spare time. To me, this percentage is horrifying and proves that computer games are becoming one of the fastest growing illness of the 21st century and there are still people who think that computer games are not that bad, because they are not harmful to the body. Computer games often appear harmless, but they can be very damaging to children and teens who are lacking in self-control. I believe the most dangerous aspect of video game addiction is the lack of awareness. Currently, many parents in Bulgaria see nothing wrong with computer games, some may even believe that gaming benefits their children. What they don't realize is that major game manufacturers hire expert psychologists to study their games and ensure that each game contains addictive components. But as consumers, we should not wait until video games are publicly acknowledged as harmful and addictive. Parents need to start limiting their children's time spent on gaming. We must raise awareness about the harmful effects of computer games before it becomes game over for our youths.