Tanya Byron addresses addiction, walks a fine line on TV
by Samuel Axon 
Apr 18th 2008 at 7:00AM
Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, Culture, News items, Opinion
Some members of the gaming community were offended by the content of a BBC TV special written by psychologist Tanya Byron. The special spent a fair amount of time addressing the issue of game addiction. Among other things, it suggested that World of Warcraft addicts have some things in common with heroin or cocaine junkies, and even called WoW "a childish fantasy game."Gaming addiction is a real problem that needs to be addressed, but it's difficult not to cringe when comparisons like that are made in a society still rampant with misconceptions and prejudices about the medium. That said, don't start demonizing Tanya Byron just yet.
