Interesting read. I can relate to this from when I was younger (around the age of 16-17). It took me some new friends and the yelling of my mother to realize that gaming was, indeed, ruining my social life. My mom's never shunned videogames, but did tell me when to stop for the day.
At one point I invited her to play some games with me on the Nintendo Wii, which is a great family console, and play some Mario Kart, karaoke, and other party games.
Today, I know how to combine my gaming life with my social life. And it works out great and I feel better about myself than back in the day.