I think it's easy to blame parents but many parents have a hard time raising their kids.
I was raised in a single parent family. My mother worked all day so she didn't have as much time for my sister and I as other parents might. When I was 9, we got a computer and she was happy to have me exploring the net alone. I started by using it to look up cheats and walkthroughs for the games that I already owned on console, but it didn't take too long before I found MMOs.
From there, I ended up hooked on MMOs. I used my mothers credit card to subscribe to them (she provided this, but she was often annoyed by the additional charges where I'd purchased some pet or something). At the time I was definitely addicted. But honestly, my mother was just happy that she knew where I was and that I was safe. That I wasn't running around getting into trouble.
When I was at school, I was constantly getting into fights, so she was just happy that I was at home and not being hurt. I ended up skipping school (50% attendance for my high school years) to keep playing MMOs. But I was still passing all of my exams so she didn't really mind. She knew that I hated school so I kept playing my MMO. Even when I did attend school, I would sign into classes then leave with friends. We would smoke and play Halo, then I'd go home to play my MMO alone.
I gave my mother a pretty hard time, and the way I was playing games was absolutely interfering with my day to day functioning, education and social life. But a lot of the other kids in my class were being expelled for violent behaviour, or out on the streets causing trouble.
For what it's worth, those kids almost exclusively, still live in my hometown. I educated myself and took myself to University, because I knew it would be better for me to get out and explore the world. I got a masters degree, and found a job in the games industry. My mothers hands off approach was probably best, as it gave me the space to recognise that my behaviour was harmful.
