Hardcore gamer or hardcore addict/problematic user

So, as my final post I have decided to do a tad bit of a mix and mash with topics. Firstly, whay constitues a "Gamer", and secondly, what constitutes an "Addicted Gamer".

Obviously, a Gamer is someone who plays games. But then not everyone who does this calls themselves a Gamer. So then does it fall to how many games you play, what interest you take in the gaming community and how you play them? I guess so. But to what extent does this need to be in order to be classified as a Gamer? In my personal experience, I consider myself a gamer. Not hardcore. I rarely go on multiplayer, take little interest in the gaming community as a whole, (only going online to check when new possibly interesting games are coming out) and as of last week own an Xbox 360 and a PS3. So in order to be identified as a gamer one must decide themselves whether they fit the bill.

Now the second part. What constitutes a gaming problem? The most obvious answer is to look at how often and for how long someone plays for. This however gets sticky, as Kevin pointed out. Games are meant to be immersive, if you play a game for hours it generally means that the creators have done a good job at the game, and you have received your money's worth. So we have to cross into need vs want to play territory. I think, for the most part, 95% of players are wanting to play. But, I think want can turn into a need quite quickly, though not in any serious form. I enjoy games, I find them relaxing and entertaining. I play a game for a couple of hours every other day or so. There are times when I don't touch or even think about my xbox for a good week or more. But then there are times, when I do feel the need to getaway from the bills, work, assignments, family members, etc (As Kevin pointed out CONTEXT!) and games provide that escape, so I cannot wait to get home and push on the power button. Last week (Friday) for instance, a new game came out, I bought it and could only play it for a tedious 5 minutes. I was unable to return to it until this morning due to other real life commitments (pfft, real life. Overrated!) and quite frankly between friday and today I was quite turd to everyone. Everytime I tried to go on it something came up. I was almost at the point of doing the exorcist and climbing up the walls.
So now, the point ... if I had one to begin with ... Oh yes, does this little incident make me a problematic user? (I don't like the term addict, it reminds me of Jared Leto in Lord of War) I don't think so, or at least I don't like to think so. My game time has really no detrimental consequence on my life (other than rushed assignments) and I think if anyone is deprived of an exciting new experience (could be anything, new book, car, house) they would soon get fed up with everything blocking them from trying it. I would classify a problematic user as someone who actually never left their house to play and often blurred the lines between reality and games, seeking friends from the game characters themselves as opposed to others that played the games, though that maybe another type of problem altogether.
Ciao