MANNHEIM, Germany These days computer games are part of everyday life for most young people and for many participants they represent an uncomplicated way of coming into contact with peers. Others use their PC to flee reality and spend their time in a virtual world. Regardless of whether a person is playing "football manager", grappling with a monster-slaying "warrior" or simply surfing the net, when a user's experiences on the computer seems more important than real life, alarm bells should be sounding. Parents must realize that a danger point has been reached and that addiction can result. It is not known how many people are affected although experts at Humboldt University in Berlin put the rate of addicts in Germany between the ages of 15 and 18 at between 2.2 and 15.8 percent of those questioned. "What is clear is that the number of patients who come to me because of Internet or computer addiction has sharply increased recently," says Friedrich Gocht, a child and youth psychotherapist in Reutlingen. Internet or computer game addiction is not easy to diagnose. "Duration alone is not a criteria," said Thomas Huenerfauth, a psychologist and behavioral therapist in Mittenbuch, Bavaria. For one thing, excessive use of the Internet can be prompted by bona fide reasons, such as extensive research for a school project. Addiction exists when a person finds it hard to quit the Internet and leave the games alone. "Boys are the biggest group affected," said Christiane Papastefanou, a youth and family psychologist from Mannheim. It seems boys' open-mindedness toward technology plays a key role here. In addition, the mastery of a computer game is a way for young people to gain recognition from their contemporaries. In order to get good a player has to participate over a long period, said Papastefanou. Gocht prefers not to speak of an "addiction" at all and opts for the term "pathological Internet use" instead. "The term addiction mainly applies to certain substances such as alcohol," he says. On-line and computer addiction can be termed excessive behavior, he said. People affected with this compulsion move in a vicious circle. "The reason for retreating into games is often social. Yet social problems do not solve themselves at the computer, they only get worse," said Papastefanou. Computer addiction also distinguishes itself from other compulsions, such as alcoholism, in that self-imposed abstinence is rarely possible. "Many people come into contact with computers and the Internet in the workplace," said Huenerfauth. As with people with eating disorders, who cannot entirely do without food, it is important that the PC abuser learns discipline if the problem is to be solved. Huenerfauth's therapy consists of first establishing a fixed timetable: "For example, the client might set himself a time limit for a computer session, using an alarm clock and taking notes." The goal is still to get the client to retake control himself. Friedrich Gocht believes it is more fruitful to tackle the subject's emotional problems. "Rules often don't help, the patient's mental trauma has been taken on directly." The dangers of computer abuse lie mainly in its capacity to isolate people from friends and relations. "This is especially harmful in adolescence, at the very time in which people should be learning to establish and maintain social contacts and become involved in society," says Huenerfauth. The exchanges common to Internet chatrooms are also no alternative to a conversation with others, says Papastefanou. Some of those afflicted by the compulsion often develop a deep fear of meeting other people, said Huenerfauth. As with other compulsive disorders, relations and friends are in no position to tackle the problem themselves, says Huenerfauth. What is important is that the young person receives some feedback: "He should be told what effect his behavior has on his surroundings," says the psychologist. "Parents should attempt to generate enthusiasm for other activities such as sports," suggests Papastefanou. And, says Gocht, the best thing is that the addicts should be referred to a psychologist in the neighborhood." Yet the chance of stumbling on computer experts in this field is rare. "Research here is in its infancy," says Papastefanou. Gocht maintains that a therapist does not necessarily need training in computer studies and the Internet to be able to offer help. (DPA)