Abstract To the Editor.— It was with great interest that I read the report by Ross et al entitled "Space Invaders Obsession" in The Journal (1982;248:1177). Their cases and comment suggest that in players who may be experiencing intrapsychic or interpersonal dissonance, the video games may serve to augment the defensive posture of the players. Their particular players apparently responded to a major life stress by the preoccupation with and compulsive playing of certain video games; the content of those games ostensibly reflected certain intrapsychic processes over which the players were seeking mastery.Examination of the relatively modest body of literature concerning selection and use of media may further substantiate their report. In 1956, Horton and Wohl1 contended that certain media contents may provide the substrate for "para-social interaction" by the lonely or alienated. They believed this type of interaction reinforces the ego rather than flooding it; thus, the spectator References 1. Horton D, Wohl RR: Mass communication and para-social interaction . Psychiatry 1956;19:215-229. 2. McLeod J, Ward S, Tancill K: Alienation and uses of the mass media . Public Opinion Q 1965-1966;29:583-594.Crossref 3. Renner JC: Violence, the media, and mental disorder , in Report of The Royal Commission on Violence in the Communications Industry, Volume 6: Vulnerability to Media Effects . Toronto, The Royal Commission on Violence in the Communications Industry, 1977, pp 161-281. 4. Bolen DW, Boyd WH: Gambling and the gambler . Arch Gen Psychiatry 1968;18:617-630.Crossref