Psychologists say the symptoms of internet-use disorder are like those of other mental illnesses: emotional shutdown, lack of concentration, and withdrawal.

Australia was the first country to establish treatment clinics for gaming addicts but psychologists want to broaden internet-use disorder, saying it is not just gamers who suffer. 

Sometimes, addicts lose control completely: 

In 2009, 17-year-old from Ohio shot his mother and injured his father after they confiscated his Halo 3 videogame.

Chris Staniforth, 20, suffered a blockage to his lungs and died while playing his Xbox for up to 12 hours in 2011.

And it is not just young people: A Korean couple was arrested in 2010 after their infant daughter starved to death while they played an online game for hours which, ironically, involved raising a virtual baby.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) will list internet-use disorder as a condition “recommended for further study”.