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> We should also ban other dangerously addictive activities, such as fiction books, non-video games, sports, DIY hobbies

These can be addicting too, but certain video games can be on an entirely different level, ie. they fulfill many more psychological needs.

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I really believe this is really a matter of taste. Don't think there something special about video games - surely they're a very common retreat but by no means an special one. There are people who are addicted to other activities just as bad as some are hooked on games. And even for games - what some would find highly addictive, others would find boring or even disgusting. So I really think there is nothing wrong with video games on their own - the problem is in the heads and games are just what frequently happens to be there.

What triggered my comment is a ban proposal for an extremely wide group, where a significant fraction doesn't have any particular issue with the subject at hand. Even if I'm unaffected by this particular proposal (I'm way past my teen years) I still find such ideas somewhat offensive. I may be naive or stupid but I don't fancy the very thought of someone being deprived of something fairly harmless to them just because others have issues.

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