Video gaming as addictive as cocaine and gambling, says WHO on adding 'gaming disorder' to their list
You might've heard the common saying, 'excess of anything is bad,' since childhood. Well, it wasn't a lie. What initially came to us as a mode of entertainment can actually have serious consequences if overused.
Gaming : The word itself sounds so relaxing -- a way to release the pressure, escape into alt-reality, and what a perfect lazy weekend sounds like. However, at the same time, the idea of 'gaming disorder' isn't alien to us.
WHO officially recognizes gaming disorder
Health watchdog WHO has long been planning to recognise it as a real mental disorder under their International Classification of Diseases (ICD) , but several debates around the same has delayed the plan.
Finally, they have added gaming disorder to the section on addictive disorders under the classification.
Video gaming can be addictive in the same way as cocaine or gambling, the organisation told AFP on June 18 while announcing the much-anticipated 11th edition of ICD.
How WHO classifies the disorder
Online and offline gaming addiction has been grouped with " disorders due to substance use or addictive behaviours" in ICD's 11th edition , the first major revision in nearly three decades.
The wording of the new entries ( gaming disorder) have been known since January, when the WHO announced that problematic gaming would be recognised as a pathological condition.
Symptoms of gaming disorder according to WHO
- Impaired control over gaming ( for example: onset, frequency, intensity, duration, termination, context) .
- Increasing priority given to gaming to the extent that gaming takes precedence over other life interests and daily activities.
- Continuation or escalation of gaming despite the occurrence of negative consequences.
A previous sufferer of gaming disorder who requests anonymity ( let's call him 'Anon') told us how he is glad he came out of the addiction. Agreeing that excessive gaming could get you hooked to a level that is irreversible, he shared his story with us.
"I was about 13 or 14 at the time I got hooked to two games: Mario and Contra. I can safely say that these games are designed to keep you hooked, nurture your gaming disorder and give you an outlet.
In extreme cases, gamers are unable to pry themselves away from a screen, drop out of school, lose jobs, and cut-off from family and non-gaming friends.
Tragic gaming-related cases reported
In April 2017, a teen was killed in a fight which can be blamed on gaming disorder
The fight was over a game's internet cafe console. Three young men began punching a homeless man who refused to give up his seat to let them play 'League of Legends '. The man fatally stabbed one during the scuffle.
In February 2017, a Twitch.tv streamer died of unknown causes after streaming straight for 22 hours
The 35-year- old father of three was doing a marathon gaming session to raise money for charity, took a pause to take a smoke -- and never returned to his screen.
Another 'League of Legends' player dropped dead of a heart attack, which is a clear gaming disorder case
He died while playing the game for 23 hours straight in a Taiwan internet cafe in 2012 -- and his body sat there for nine hours before anyone realized he had passed away.
The person [affected by gaming disorder] does so much gaming that other interests and activities are ignored, including sleeping and eating
We should try to constrain or limit ourselves when playing games. Playing for minutes to ease of stress isn't bad, but when you become hooked up for hours it really becomes a 'GAMING DISORDER' as it completely takes over your thinking faculty.