Welcome to the ezine produced by SGI Buddhists that prompts the positive, kindles the constructive, highlights the hopeful and leaves you feeling - well, up!
Published on Monday, 06 December 2010 21:28 | | 
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'But it's just a game!' Jason, a pale, spotty teenager, yells at his Mum.
'What kind of game keeps you awake continuously for three days, truant from school and missing all your meals?' Mum begs to know.
'But I'm competing with the top guy in the world over in Korea, Mum! He stays up for two weeks straight. I'm a lightweight compared to him, but my score's really up!
''What about your friends in the real world, meeting girls, studying for your exams...?' Mum asks.
'Oh, fuck off!' Jason's hand is glued to his console as he stares into the blipping, trippy screen.
Mum has never been told to 'eff off' by her 13-year-old son before.
This common scene between a concerned parent and teenage boy plays out more frequently than previously believed, as teenagers escape into cyberspace in a new form of addictive compulsion.
There seems a certain inevitability in the rise of teenage boys' unhealthy dependence on computer games. The idea of controlling your world, through a perspex screen, has never seemed more appealing when the real world is so unreliable and alienating. Or for some, just plain boring.
But new research has discovered a link with a form of Asperger's syndrome that opens up a deeper world of behavioral problems, comparable with other forms of addiction, such as to alcohol or drugs.