This was me, albeit not when I was 18 due to existential problems and shit living situation, so I was forced to get a job around 17/18, but that's a bit off top

This was me, albeit not when I was 18 due to existential problems and shit living situation, so I was forced to get a job around 17/18, but that's a bit off topic for this. But it was me for most of my teens, and to an extent still is today. Even after I found a job, I spent most of my free time online, and made lifelong friends; most of whom I've met many times in person. I even moved to London to be able to hang out more often in person. Often, extreme escapism can be ways of coping. Either coping because the parents haven't taught their children any coping mechanisms, or because they have childhood trauma that they're not processing (either due to a still traumatic environment, often caused by parents). Obviously, laziness exists, but contrary to popular opinion, I don't believe anyone who plays a lot of videogames is lazy because games often exert a lot of mental effort. There's also the possibility of addiction, but addiction is often a maladaptive coping mechanisms that has roots in traumatic childhood and is often a symptom of Complex PTSD. Sorry for kinda making a circular argument. So, anyway, my advice would be to—instead of forcing the child into stopping using the computer—get them into therapy. Therapists who deal with children of abusive narcissistic parents is my recommendation; narcissism in the family is incredibly insidious, especially to children. It's often impossible to spot from the outside due to the narcissists false self they present to the rest of the world.[0] On a more positive note, spending so much time watching anime, "playing games", and hanging out in various creative online communities sparked my interest for software development. My care giver called it "playing video games" too, but I was actually writing my own visual roleplay software used by a few hundred people (not much I know, but it was a niche community and it felt as an achievement in my teens). Obviously, I played games too, but the point I'm trying to make is that maybe the parents can't even tell the difference, lol. This is all from personal experience and it's very anecdotal, though. [0]: https://narcissistfamilyfiles.com/2016/04/22/raised-by-narcissists-why-you-cant-afford-the-wrong-therapist/ https://narcissistfamilyfiles.com/2016/04/22/raised-by-narci... https://narcissistfamilyfiles.com/2020/04/30/5-things-children-of-narcissists-wish-everyone-would-stop-saying/ https://narcissistfamilyfiles.com/2020/04/30/5-things-childr... The narcissistic family files websites is a morbid treasure trove on anyone who wants to educate themselves. If people are morbidly curious or this resonates with them, I also recommend checking out Dr Ramani's YouTube channel, as well as potentially checking out her healing programme. Additionally, look for a support group of you think you might have been exposed to narcissism in childhood. I'm also available to talk if you have no one else to talk to that "gets it" but I'm not an expert and I'm still struggling/recovering myself, so I can't give and sound advice, but I can at least offer compassion. It gets better; you just gotta believe in the process.