Court commits teen addicted to video games

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MALMO, Sweden, Oct. 24 (UPI) -- A teenager whose parents couldn't get him to stop playing video games must be involuntarily committed to an institution, a court in Sweden ruled.

The court found the 16-year-old's parents lacked the tools to deal with their son's computer gaming problem and the boy needed to be institutionalized for treatment, the Swedish news agency TT reported Wednesday.

His parents first contacted Swedish social services last year when his addiction to computer games caused his health to deteriorate.

The teen was so focused on his game playing that he physically attacked his father whenever he was asked to stop.

The parents said they turned to the courts in hopes of getting help for their son through Sweden's Care of Young People's Act.

Under that statute, young people between the ages of 12 and 21-years-old can be taken out of their homes by social services and housed in facilities run by Sweden's National Board of Institutional Care.