The founder of a monitoring centre of the digital world in social sciences, Michaël Stora, a psychologist and psychoanalyst in Paris, replies to the many questions on the lips of parents and clinicians faced with the formidable emergence of video games in the lives of our teenagers: why are we scared of video games? Why are teenagers fascinated by the virtual world ? What is the difference between excessive gaming and cyber-addiction? What can parents do when they are worried? How can the virtual world be used for therapeutic means ?

Using the game World of Warcraft, which is extremely popular with teenagers, Michaël Stora initially explains how on-line video games work: choice of avatar, race, distinctive features, a guild, the time needed to build up your power, missions, etc. Then, using his clinical experience, he describes the profile of young people who can sometimes become excessive gamers or sometimes cyber-addicts. He then goes on to address the role of the parents as well as therapists and gives some examples of using video games for therapeutic purposes.