Computer game addiction classified as a disorder by WHO
Gaming addiction is to be listed as a mental health condition by the World Health Organization for the first time. Some school leaders have expressed concern about the contribution of excessive gaming to deterioration in quality of school work and poor attention during classes.
Its 11th International Classification of Diseases (ICD) will include the condition “gaming disorder”.
The draft document states:
“Gaming disorder is characterized by a pattern of persistent or recurrent gaming behaviour (‘digital gaming’ or ‘video-gaming’), which may be online (i.e., over the internet) or offline, manifested by:
1) impaired control over gaming (e.g., onset, frequency, intensity, duration, termination, context);
2) increasing priority given to gaming to the extent that gaming takes precedence over other life interests and daily activities; and
3) continuation or escalation of gaming despite the occurrence of negative consequences. The behaviour pattern is of sufficient severity to result in significant impairment in personal, family, social, educational, occupational or other important areas of functioning. The pattern of gaming behaviour may be continuous or episodic and recurrent. The gaming behaviour and other features are normally evident over a period of at least 12 months in order for a diagnosis to be assigned, although the required duration may be shortened if all diagnostic requirements are met and symptoms are severe.”
Coverage of extreme cases of gaming addiction, in rare cases even resulting in death, have sparked concerns about the impact of excessive gaming on the physical and mental health of those affected. However, the true number of “addicted” gamers remains unclear.
Gaming addiction has recently received government attention, particularly in East Asia. The South Korean Government has introduced a law banning access for children under 16 from online games between midnight and 06:00. In Japan, players are alerted if they spend more than a certain amount of time each month playing games and in China, internet giant Tencent has limited the hours that children can play its most popular games.