FALL CITY, Wash. — Ben Alexander spent nearly every waking minute playing the video game “World of Warcraft.” As a result, he flunked out of the University of Iowa.
Alexander, 19, needed help to break an addiction he calls as destructive as alcohol or drugs. He found it in this suburb of high-tech Seattle, where what claims to be the first residential treatment center for Internet addiction in the United States just opened its doors.
ReStart, which opened in July, offers — for $14,000 — a 45-day program intended to help people wean themselves from pathological computer use, which can include obsessive use of video games, texting, Facebook, eBay, Twitter and other time-killers brought courtesy of technology.
Internet addiction is not recognized as a separate disorder by the American Psychiatric Association, and treatment is not generally covered by insurance. But psychiatric experts say it is clear that Internet addiction is real and harmful. The effects range from loss of a job or marriage to car accidents for those who can’t stop texting while driving. Some people have died after playing video games for days without a break, generally stemming from a blood clot associated with being sedentary.
