My boyfriend can literally play video games all night, for hours and hours with no break. I have to pull him away from video games to put the baby to bed, or to even play with the baby sometimes. I have to remind him what time it is in the morning because he plays video games from the moment he wakes up until 10 minutes before he has to leave. He will always offer to help me get the baby ready to go, and doesn't complain or get a bad attitude when I interrupt him for help with things around the house, or to just spend time with me...but I can't help it. I still get a little annoyed by the amount of time and energy he spends on these stupid games. He plays online strategy games, which are all interactive and allow him to play on a team. This makes the gaming more interesting and a bit social, which I understand and relate to. I used to play my Xbox online all the time...when I was SINGLE and before I had children. I never play online anymore, and I rarely get around to playing a game (and I never get to finish). I would say that I spend roughly 2 hours a week playing video games - and that is if I have a week when I can play them at all. Instead I busy myself with chores, taking care of my son, and taking care of my non-profit work (I work from home). He spends at least 1 or 2 hours a night and an hour in the morning playing games. The same one pretty much every time. It's a little annoying. I find myself missing my old relationship sometimes. We did things TOGETHER in my previous relationship. My current boyfriend is a bit of a loner. He refuses to make friends where we live, and has offended most of my friends when they come over for drinks by constantly challenging their point of view when they get into philosophical debates (which always happens because he turns every conversation into a debate). I have started to conclude that the reason he prefers video games over real people is because he is the type of person that can't relax and just have a good time watching a show or having a casual chat. Every chat has to be a serious political, sociological or psychological discussion, and one that he has to "win" by either talking the person to death until they don't want to continue, or verbally backing them into a corner so that they are in a constant state of defending their point of view while attempting to get him to listen to what they are saying. So, he plays video games all night. I suppose it wouldn't bother me if he did that and allowed me to have my friends over unmolested. But if I invite a friend over, he will use the opportunity to debate with them, which eventually makes them uncomfortable enough to not come over and see me. I have tried to bring this up to him, but I don't want to make him feel bad. I know that he is trying to be social in his own way, and that he simply doesn't know how to restrain himself. It is difficult for me, though, because it makes it virtually impossible for me to have close friendships with other people. If I am only able to talk to them on the phone, through texts, and through facebook, I can't really have a deep relationship with them. I don't think he is intentionally cutting me off socially, but that is the result.

Does anyone else have this problem (or have had this problem) in their relationships? How did you choose to handle it? Do you think it would be appropriate for me to ask him to restrict his video game time in order to spend more time with family? Or are the video games just a symptom of the bigger problem that involves his inability to socialize?

Thanks for any input.