Considering the important place they occupy in youth recreation, video games and the way they are used have become unavoidable objects of study. Among the questions raised by this research, two are particularly sensitive because of their ideological and political implications. The first is the over-investment these games can generate, sometimes called « Internet addiction » or « obsessive passion ». The second, revived every time incidents occur involving minors, focuses on the possible exportation « Into Real Life » of the violent content of some games. In this context, the Walloon Institute for Mental Health carried out at the request of the Walloon Minister of Health, Social Action and Equal Opportunity (Belgium), an inventory of what is known about these two issues. The article provides a summary of this work.

Adolescence, 2012, 30, 1, 89-99.