Eli is 12 and loves video games. He plays every day—sometimes for hours. It started out as fun, but lately, he’s been skipping homework, ignoring messages from friends, and staying up way too late. His parents are worried. His grades are slipping. Even Eli knows he feels tired and irritable all the time—but when he tries to take a break, he just ends up back at the screen. It’s the one place where he feels in control. Where he’s good at something. But at what cost?

Eli is 12, and video games are his favorite thing in the world. At first, it was just something fun to do after school—playing online with friends, leveling up, getting better at fast-paced shooters and open-world adventures. But over the past few months, things have changed.

Now, Eli plays all the time. After school, before bed, sometimes even in the middle of the night with the lights off and the sound turned low. Homework gets pushed aside, texts from friends go unanswered, and family dinners feel like interruptions he has to sit through.

His parents have noticed.

“We think you need to take a break,” his mom says gently.
“You’re not yourself lately.”

Eli brushes it off. He’s fine. He’s just into this new game right now. He’ll stop after the next update, or the next event, or the next rank.

But even Eli knows something’s not right. He’s tired all the time. His grades have started slipping. And when he tries to stop—even for a day—he feels anxious, bored, even angry. The games are where he feels confident, where he doesn’t have to worry about school or people judging him. It’s the only place that feels like his.

Still, part of him wonders:
What is he missing outside the screen? And why does logging off feel harder than it should?

He doesn’t know if he has a problem. Or if he just needs more balance.

Has Eli lost control over his hobby? And if so—what should he do next?