Addiction in video games has seen a lot of press lately with some governments around the world considering legislation restricting the use of loot boxes.
Now addiction in a gaming context is getting a bit more attention: recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced gaming itself can be addictive.
Are you having difficulty pulling yourself away from your video games? Have you forsaken both your responsibilities and your relationships with others? Do you continue gaming despite negative repercussions? If so, as far as the WHO is now concerned, you are suffering from “gaming disorder”.
Gaming disorder is included in the draft of WHO’s 11th revision of its International Classification of Diseases. WHO defines gaming disorder as a consistent, recurring gaming habit of “sufficient severity to result in significant impairment in personal, family, social, education, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.”
According to WHO’s new draft, gaming disorder is only possible to diagnose over a period of at least 12 months except for in extreme cases. As of the time of writing, WHO’s draft does not include treatment or prevention of gaming disorders.
It’s worth mentioning that another recent study, published in Molecular Psychiatry, discovered that playing first-person shooters can actually reduce grey matter within the hippocampus in the brain.
– PJ Says –
If you ask me, ten minutes alone with Superman 64 would prove sufficient treatment for any addiction you may have to video games.
It should be. I agree with that.
Hm, I had read about this, but I cannot say I agree. I believe it can become an obsession, but when are we going to stop labeling everything as a disorder? I feel as though we live in a society that has to label everything. It is what it is I suppose!