Gaming goes from being recreation to a "problem" when certain things happen:
1. It begins to interferre with personal relationships or professional careers (including schooling).
2. You make excuses/sacrifices in order to increase your playing time. This includes cancelling on family events (if you wouldn't normally) or calling in sick to work.
3. You find yourself obsessing over in-game things while not playing.
There's more, but these are the basics. An easy test is if you "don't know what to do with yourself if you don't play the game for a day or two".
I play a lot of video games. A LOT. But I don't have a "problem" because I've always been a recluse, the last thing that could happen is a video game-related loss of employment, and I regularly take breaks (a few days each month) to clear my head.
Online games can be a healthy part of your life if that's what you want them to be. The problem occurs when they become all of your life and slowly eat away at everything else. Family members absolutely love to tell each other what they ought to be doing, but it's very hard for anyone but a gamer to know whether another gamer is letting the computer destroy their life.
It's like single friends complaining because the newlywed doesn't come out partying with them as much. New life, new priorities, new responsibilities. If you choose to be a gamer you have to make adjustments just as you do for any other hobby, interest, vocation, or relationship.
The problem is when you let gaming take over more of your life than it requires. When you let it destroy your job, your grades, your friendships and even your health - THAT's a problem.
It's the difference between gaming as a recreation and as a vocation/obsession. Unless you're getting paid to do it, don't treat it like a job.
The line can be a little fuzzy, but it's there. If you're not sure which side you're standing on the odds are it's the wrong side. Give up gaming for a week and re-evaluate it. If you don't like other people telling you what to do, make certain your decisions are the right ones. Listen to the other side, give them an honest hearing, and then make a choice based on all the fact (not just your opinions).
