Some people have "addictive personalities", if they enjoy something it quickly becomes an obsession - until the next thing comes along. I am one of these people, and I have been addicted to computer games on and off since I got an Atari 800xl and a copy of "River Raid" as a kid.

I have had hours of fun from playing games,and when I consider the amount of time I have spent playing games, and consider how much they cost, they are actually much better value for money than some other forms of entertainment - like DVDs for example.

I have had some negative experiences as a result of overdoing it with the gaming though. I am almost certain for example, that I would have got a higher class for my degree if it were not for a 20-30 hour a week Championship Manager (now Football Manager) addiction during the three years of my undergraduate studies!

I got sucked into online gaming in a big way in 2006-7 whilst caring for my terminally ill mother - I couldn't leave her on her own, which curtailed my social life, so I would often play World of Warcraft and Star Wars Galaxies whilst she slept. It passed the times and provided a way of relaxing and escaping from the stress and sadness of my real life.

Once my mother died though, my addiction really took hold and I "withdrew" from the real world for several months, only leaving the house every 2-3 days! I'm not sure this did me any harm. Most people would argue I should have tried to get on with my life, at the time I didn't feel ready to, and this was just my way of coping I suppose.

So can you get addicted to games? If you are a certain type of person who is prone to take things to excess, then yes. Is it a negative? It can be under some situations, but it can also be a valuable way of releving stress and letting off steam.