Stanford University

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A UK teenager is among one of the first children to be treated for addiction to computer games, it emerged yesterday.

The 16-year-old will undergo a 30-day course at a clinic in Amsterdam, linked to The Priory.

He will join twenty-somethings from Holland, France and Germany, before signing on with Online Gamers Anonymous.

Every member of the group became hooked on computer games after marathon sessions playing World of Warcraft.

“They all looked as white as ghosts when they came through the door,” Keith Bakker, director at the Dutch clinic, Smith & Jones, said in an interview with Contractor UK.

“Despite the fact they are all of above average intelligence; they have troubles in school and have isolated themselves completely from the outside world.”

Studies published by the respected Stanford University claim it is still unknown if addiction to computer games and the Internet can be classified as a clinical disorder.

But experts at Smith & Jones, who have treated ‘lots of kids in the past six months’, suggest such a message could undermine the potential harm of the virtual world.

“Most of the teens we have treated for addiction to computer games eventually see that gaming and chemical dependency are very much the same,” Mr Bakker said.