actually i am not quite so sure about "programming had very little to do with it"... programming may have appealed to him given his personality, but that doesn

actually i am not quite so sure about "programming had very little to do with it"... programming may have appealed to him given his personality, but that doesnt mean his personality is/was fixed and could not have changed... classic model is the TRD (Triadic Reciprocality Determinism) where the personality, behaviours and environment affect each other... so in this case, he may have been mildly introverted, so the computer (the environment) offered temporary solace to his preference to introversion (personality) resulting in increasing usage (behaviors)... now i am not saying there is anything wrong with introversion or doing what you enjoy, but you can always argue the benefits of such a choice on lifestyle and how it affects other parts of his life.. the worrying bit is the parents not thinking it was important to "go outside or something"...