What is this world coming to?

I read this article today and it just amazing me that people can allow an addiction to take over their lives so completely. I can't understand how anything could consume someone's focus so completely? Where are these people's priorities? Here is the article:



South Korean man dies after nearly 50 straight hours playing computer games
11/08/2005 11:01:00 AM

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - A 28-year-old man died of an apparent heart attack after playing computer games non-stop for 49 hours in an Internet cafe, police said.
The man, identified only by his last name, Lee, collapsed Friday after having eaten minimally and not sleeping. He had refused to leave his keyboard while he played the battle simulation game Starcraft, police said.
Lee, a resident in the southern city of Taegu, taken to hospital but died after a few hours, due to what doctors believed was a heart attack, police said.
Lee had been fired from his job last month because he kept missing work to play computer games.
The games are enormously popular in South Korea, home to professional gamers who earn big money through sponsorships and television stations devoted to broadcasting matches.