I do think it can be a social thing. I've heard this from my friend's as well. That it gave DC something in common with other kids. My son loves SPORE. He and his best friend and younger brother love to watch each other play and discuss strategies. When they are playing outside, sometimes they continue their SPORE game orally, developing their mental game as they run around like hooligans. They even WRITE about SPORE - gasp - boys writing! LOL. I think you just have to decide where you line is and as another poster said, make sure the boy is controlling the game rather than the game controlling the boy. In the summer, computer games dwindle as we spend more time outdoors.