World Health Organization Wants “Gaming Disorder” to Be Considered a Form of Addiction
Do you think video games are addictive? I mean, really addictive to the point that you might need medical help? Regardless of what you think, the World Health Organization (WHO), wants “gaming disorder” to be classified as an addictive behavior.
In a beta draft of the WHO’s International Classification of Diseases for 2018, it lists gaming disorder as part of “disorders due to addictive behaviors” and has the following description:
Description
Disorders due to addictive behaviours are recognizable and clinically significant syndromes associated with distress or interference with personal functions that develop as a result of repetitive rewarding behaviours other than the use of dependence-producing substances. Disorders due to addictive behaviors include gambling disorder and gaming disorder, which may involve both online and offline behaviour.
For those worrying, this draft isn’t final, and hasn’t been approved by the WHO. They are considering it, but we’re still a ways off from it becoming official.
Do you think there should be a medical case for actual gaming disorders? Do you know anyone who are addicted to video games (like, really addicted)? Share your thoughts on this below in the comments.
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