Poll: As "Gaming Disorder" Becomes A Thing, Is It Time To Assess How Much You Play?

Other parts of my life try and interfere with my love of gaming...

... but **** them. If you think I'm here to work as hard as I can, think again.

Write down your ideal 24hrs. How many hours do you put down for 'work'?

Maximise the stuff you like doing, minimise the stuff you don't.

If anything I don't play enough games due to other life factors.

As always, I don't like the indication of quantity.

If any of your activities impact your life too much, adjust them. If you find yourself less capable to, you have something to address.

You don't want to know how many times people say I'm addicted to gaming because I game too much.

I'm not addicted because I put the controller away when I need to do other stuff, if I was really addicted all the other stuff in my life would never happen and I would refure to pause gaming anytime.

You can game a lot if you manage your time and other stuf well, the issue starts when you don't.

After reading the article, it appears I am actually more addicted to being at work!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Video games made me the man I am today. If that is good or bad, I will let History be my judge when I am long gone.

Told at 16 due to my many health issues I’d never work. Without games I’d have no life.

My mates both IRL and online are all gamers, so it is the best thing for me.

Play over 60 hours a week on average, again a lot of time on my hands. And when you spend your life alone, talking to mates while you game is a tremendous boost that really helps fight off depression.

I'd say I'm currently in the 4-6 hour range at the moment, but it used to be much more and I didn't think it was a problem then.

I've had a couple of family members suggest that I had a problem in the past when realistically I was only playing something for 2-3 hours a night. Think about what other people do for that amount of time too - watch TV, go on their phone or go out drinking at the weekends. They aren't much better for your health but everybody has interests and ways to relax, and that's important too! I feel like gamers do get bad press more often though because of the idea of the "stereotypical gamer", but that's an outdated view, there is way more variety than the kid alone in his room.

This is absolutely ridiculous.

"Characterised by a pattern of persistent or recurrent *** behaviour, which may be online or offline, manifested by: 1) impaired control over *** (e.g., onset, frequency, intensity, duration, termination, context); 2) increasing priority given to *** to the extent that *** takes precedence over other life interests and daily activities; and 3) continuation or escalation of *** despite the occurrence of negative consequences."

Just replace *** with any other activity. That's how silly this is.

From Monday until Friday, i usually play my video games between 1 - 2 hours, but on Saturday i can play 3 - 4 hours, on Sunday i can spend by total 5 - 6 hours gameplay including playing DDR Arcade at Game Center ( 2 - 3 hours).

Sorry but mobile phone addiction is far worse in my opinion

I'm not going to fill in the poll. I definitely do play for more than 20 hours per week which for most people is probably too much but I run my business from home and much of my day is spent responding to emails. It's either watch TV, browse the Internet or play my Switch for all the time between. Apart from football I don't watch TV,when browsing the Internet I only really visit Nintendolife, BBC football, YouTube and a couple of news sites so there's only so much browsing I can do. So the Switch it is and I have no guilt. I go out for a walk along the beach every morning, I go out and socialise when I can be bothered and my cat is well fed and as happy as a well fed cat can be . So if I say I play around 30 hours+ per week WHO would probably class me as having an addiction and in some ways they'd be right but I don't find it an unhealthy one as it doesn't interfere with my life and never has.

It's such a load of rubbish, just pencil pushers looking for something else to blame. Why isn't reading books an addiction then, I read a lot of books and play a lot of games, I don't get withdrawal when I can't read a book or play a game for a while.

I actually think smartphone addiction is a much more worrying problem than gaming. People check their phone 100 times a day just to get that little fix.

Chat rooms, p0rn, toy guns, internet, video games, movies, comic books, alcohol, football, mobile phones - things that are blamed by out of touch old folk and the media for people having no self control and doing bad things

Video addiction is a nonsense - how many millions of people play video games and have since what the late 60s/70s and the vast vast majority are fine and functioning...

Its down to the individual or the parents.

Video games are a fine and enriching part of modern life. fact.

I get 6 hours a week if I’m lucky. I’m longer on Nintendolife while at work

I only recently saw the scope of my problem with videogames. It was around last march when breath of the wild released and i spent a few weeks only gaming and doing nothing else. Really had a lot of problems then but it was a wake up call for me. I still game a lot but i also work a lot now. I had to realise that for the 10 years i have been a gamer, gaming has seriously kept me from being productive and making the best of myself. However, i do think that partially because of games i am now really happy and enjoying life.
Extra credits also has a very good video on the topic on youtube.
So with all things in life, too much is never good. If you can strike a blanance between gaming and other things then game on. If you think other parts of your life suffer because of your gaming habits, then please reconsider your priorities. Trust me, it really changed my life for the better!
Have a nice day and happy gaming

I struggle to find the time tbh, i work and train so much that its difficult to fit in. On my days off ill play if i can.

Those that are predisposed to videogame addiction, would be addicted to something else if videogames did not exist. The reward cycle that videogames use is a hook for those with addictive personalities, but videogames do not cause the addiction.

If they list gaming addiction, they should list social media addiction as well.
Try not fiddling with your smartphone for an hour. Than for two. Than for an entire day. Gets harder and harder, doesn't it?

Gaming addiction is a thing and it's not just isolated to 10+ hours a session non-stop. Sorry to tell you this @Rayquaza2510 but you're most likely addicted – as evidenced by the fact that when you're not playing you're probably reading websites about gaming, like right now! I am too guilty as charged, even though I have voted 1-3 hours a week. I don't play as much anymore (though I love sitting for a few hours with a game alone, which is harder now that I'm in a relationship), but I still feel like a gamer and like to stay on top of new releases.

As with everything, moderation is key. Gaming addiction is probably more present in younger gamers as they have more susceptible minds compared with fewer duties and relationships (meaning more time to waste gaming). And they react more violently to being chastised or reminded about their chores.

Video games probably had a negative impact on my life. If I put in more work when I was wasting time playing I probably would have fulfilled my dream to work as an animator. I ended up wasting money for animation school with nothing to show for it.

In my case the "smoke the whole pack" therapy worked – with my low qualifications one of the jobs I could work as was game tester. Now that's a way to start hating video games! However a lot of my colleagues were playing at home as well, conversation topics often including latest releases or Dark Souls. I have a varied choice of hobbies, so I was happy to not play a video game when back home. There's enough comics and books to read, movies to watch, miniatures to paint and boardgames to play to not miss video games too much.

Hardly the most unbiased audience to poll... might as well have asked “do you like video games?”, “do you own a console?” and “do you hate Nintendo?”

This creeps me out a lot, I didn't know about this before... I haven't played a lot of games recently, but since I bought Splatoon 2, I've been been playing about 10-20 hours per week. I never feel like I can't stop playing if I need to, and I also like to go for a walk.

Honestly, people should stop using mobile phones so much instead. It really annoys me when everyone around me is staring at their phones like zombies. I personally don't use my phone anymore since it gave me a lot of stress and made me anxious, and I've felt so much more free in my life since I stopped using my phone.

As a kid I think I had a slight problem as I woke up two hours before school started so I could play and I missed most of my homework because of games. But I just enjoyed gaming back then soooo much. As a teen I palyed almost as much, videogames were my escape from the world of getting bullied at school and having little friends to hang out with. But I think my english would be much worse without videogames. I also think videogames made me think and actually use my brain.
These days people have addictions to binge watching shows on netflix and just mindlessly messing with their phones & getting on social media. People don't connect as much with each other as they connect with their phones and tv shows. As big (or even bigger) problem as too much videogames.

Gaming is a good thing. But dont let good things take priority over the best use of your time. Just be honest with yourself about your time, it’s easy for us all to spend a little too much on our pleasures

I was told in college I had a disorder for consistently going to comedy clubs and working out because how much time I spent on it.

I almost believe that if you do a thing, it's clearly a disorder.

I respectfully disagree with the WHO. As you can replace gaming with any other activity, there is nothing specific to gaming that causes such disordered behaviour. Gaming is merely the expression of the disorder.

Therefore, such behaviour is better explained by referring to an obsessive compulsive disorder or even social anxiety disorders or attachment disorders, where such activity is compensation for being unable to function adequately in normal life.

Lack of impulse control is the root of the problem, not anything inherent in gaming. Impulse control is learnt in infancy and childhood via healthy attachments to caregivers. If attachments are not healthy, a whole range of disorders can develop. It is, of course, important to remember that some people develop disorders in the presence of healthy attachments.

Good early care is essential to good mental health in the teenage years and in adulthood.

I play A LOT, it’s the preferred use of my free time. I seriously don’t think video games are any worse than TV or mobile phones.

The real problem is that it’s a sedimentary activity which can consume a lot of time and (for me) is mostly a solitary experience. The girlfriend doesn’t play (and has no interest) and neither does the family, so we do more social activities... ie. watching movies/tv or simply drinking wine and talking.

After writing drinking seems less healthy than gaming... guess it’s just cultural acceptance.

I wouldn't say I have a gaming addiction, but I've definitely got a spending problem when it comes to games.

@HappyRusevDay I know exactly how you feel as I’m largely in the same boat. Hope you are doing ok.

Gaming is not a bad thing. But anything done in excess is bad. Sports, gaming, drinking milk, anything. And it seems reasonable that it could become an addiction, since gambling can.

The problem I have with this is the politics. Politicians are going to use this to, once again, attack gaming. The mainstream media, which has, for a long time, felt threatened by the rise of alternative forms of entertainment, will support those politicians. "News" and other clickbait sources will cover this because they make money from the traffic and views.

Everyone is going to use attacking gaming as a way to push their agenda. And it is going to suck.

Besides the horror stories of collapsing or dying while playing video games. Let's not forget the parents who try to limit their kids and they themselves end up dying. I remember reading an article where the mom/dad took away Halo from their kid and he ended up getting their gun and shooting them in the head while they slept. An extreme case but still...

Gaming is the first thing to go for me. I work a lot, work out a lot and like to have social life, so on top of maintenance activities (chores) there isn't that much time for me to game. I don't watch TV so that helps, only occassional Netflix but that's in the same bag as gaming as they share the time (if I watch shows, I don't game and vice-versa).
However, gaming has helped me in the past with depression and sadness; then I played a lot more to the point where you could've said that I exhibited said behaviours. But, it was just a coping mechanism; these days are long gone, though.

Lol: I don't see myself as a addict, but maybe I am in denial?

Yes, I game a lot. Why I do react to this article is because: Yeah, they are pointing fingers to gamers again, mostly male. Of course all the females totally obsessed with their social media accounts on their smartphones, no problem at all!

I don't say some males haven't got any issues, of course there are. But its totally hip and trendy to blame everything on males nowadays!

"I actually think smartphone addiction is a much more worrying problem than gaming. People check their phone 100 times a day just to get that little fix."

100 agreed!

It really depends. These days when there are no new releases, I usually game 2-6 hours a week maybe. But when I played Xenoblade Chronicles 2, I could easily play 4-8 hours every day because the game was so freaking good!

“Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt”

Between someone who spends a few hours playing videogames almost every day and someone who spends 100% of his days in front of the tv looking at his phone, not able to have a meal without his phone... I really think they should focus en phone addiction disorder.

I have to agree that some people are dangerously addicted to video games. I used to spend over 12h a day on MMORPGs when I lost my last job but I would always favour a night out to a night on video games (my team hated me for not being there every single day)

I can remember when the Wii U first came out and I played Arkham City all day Sunday for about 9 hours. In the evening I went out driving and saw all of these kids standing round in baseball caps and dark jackets like the gangs in Gotham. For a split second I was considering which ones I should take out first, then realised I was back in real life and have since cut back to a maximum of a couple of hours of gaming a day.

Sounds kooky, but I have no doubt that someone playing a shooting game for three days straight could find the line of reality and the games world blurred.

@Shiryu Here here!

I game way more then could probably be considered healthy but I also rather be doing that then watching a movie or a tv show. I have my ups and downs but I'd rather be gaming then most anything else.

I have phases of hypomania, and that’s usually when my gaming hobby turns into full-blown addiction. I admit it. I’m not always like that, but I once noticed that in a short amount of time (a few months), I had 200 hours spent on just one game. I immediately backed away and took a lengthy break from gaming, only to return when I reprioritized myself.

I’m okay now! I got some help and I learned how to moderate better.

Edit: My most intense gaming sprees were never to the point of thirst, starvation, or that kind of bodily decay. They were a heightened periods of elevation. “You know, I could sleep now, as that’d be sensible. But I won’t!! I don’t need sleep, I’m energized and playing this game like a pro! Mwaha, grandiosity!”

20 hours a week is not too much. That's like 2 movies a day

Ironically I don’t spend a lot of time playing video games themselves. But I find myself spending way too much time on websites and message boards talking and thinking about them.

Maybe if I spent more time playing games with people as a social thing like I desire to it would actually be more healthy.

That being said, I definitely had a balance problem with smash 4 and i want to be very careful I don’t make the same mistake with ultimate.

I kind of predicted the poll results considering the majority of users here indeed play video games daily, me included. However, since coming into college I have less time to engross myself in anything that requires many hours of story / grinding, but this was gradual. But a lot of games these days certainly require more time put into them, as the scope of games gets larger, and while I don't think we should be told to stop playing games for good, the occasional in game reminder to say "you need a break" or let you save anytime would be much needed in more games. Gaming can be addictive, and harmful as a result. I'd play games non-stop as a child.

When I first met my now wife, she voiced concerns that I played too much. This was until I pointed out that she actually spent more time casual gaming on her phone than I did on any console. The discussion didn't last long.

All this "news" will do is stigmatise gaming once more. As many people have said (myself included), it is an invaluable tool for combatting depression and social anxieties, and as long as it doesn't interfere with essential everyday life, more power to us all. It's all about balance.

I’m an addict. There I said it

I feel so much better now

So if someone watches tv are they addicted or someone who listens to music often and even goes to gigs then that must mean they need to go to rehab it’s the general media kicking up a fuss again cos they don’t and never will understand gaming they see it as some sort of devil I prefer to play a game rather than watch tv cos I’m actually doing something and interacting

i think for me on a good week its 30 hours but that includes
watching movies and TV as well but on a bad week over 40 including movies and TV. I do a lot of the time let me house go downhill due to my gaming addiction I am not very tidy and although my house is not a home from hell, If a tidy freak came in they come out again straight away lol.

@EasyDaRon I’m not saying it’s on the same lines I’m simply saying that as long as I have known gaming has been seen as a unhealthy thing to do first it was a thing kids did until perceptions were changed and now it’s an addiction I regularly go to my friends and we play games together so I’m not locking myself away I just think it’s something the media like to jump on now and again

Most of my time is spent playing video games and simultaneously binge watching shows on Netflix. I have a minimum wage job and I still live with my parents. I have one good, best friend and I get out to see her maybe once every few weeks. I'm that typical gamer that sits alone in his room most of the time. And it's embarrassing to admit that. I actually graduated at the top of my class. I'm great with coding, drawing, graphic design and similar creative areas. I just don't give myself the time to get out there and look for jobs that I could really excel at and that would improve my life. I don't know why. Is it that I'm addicted to games? Is it the anxiety of socialising with others? The pressure and responsibilities that would come with such a change? I don't know. Maybe it's a lot of things. I think it's ok for them to list this as an addiction though. I really believe that it can be for some people. The same way they might be addicted to social media for example. It's really hard to break that cycle though and to bring about positive changes in your lifestyle. I think most people have a lot of compacted problems that just make it hard to deal with all the stresses in daily life. Anyways good luck to anyone in bad circumstances that aspires to better their self and improve their life. Peace ✌️

The “Roughly how many hours a week do you play games?” question was kinda hard for me as it depends on if I feel like gaming. From the end of 2015 until the switch release I only played for 60 hours. So I almost didn’t game for 2 years. But those 60 hours where in 2 weeks time for stardew valley.
Last week I played for about 3 hours. But the week prior I played for 20+ hours. And this week I have yet to game. It’s not that I don’t have the time either since I don’t work and don’t go to school.

I spend 45 hours a week at a desk job. I spend 6 hours a week commuting to said job. I work out 1- 1 and a half hours a day to keep myself fit. I sleep 6-7 hours a night because I want to spend more time with my wife. The remaining time is devoured by chores and adulting with any spare time devoured with videogames, Netflix, Crunchyroll, older movies, and reading. I normally manage to game in excess of 20 hours a week, but I can binge most kinds of media, besides just listening to music is boring, to me it is an accompaniment to other activities. I choose not to follow cable tv, sports, or the ultra depressing news if I can help it. I have little interest in outdoor activities besides running and I live with most of my social circle. I could quit gaming if I had to, but it'd be replaced with movies, books, and streaming apps or board/card games if I could get my wife and friend back into them. Anything can be addictive, but videogames are one of the least destructive/uncommonly unhealthy-how many people drink/smoke themselves to death or spend all their money on gambling compared to gamers who die from not taking a break on marathon sessions of starcraft? Perhaps a broader electronic media addiction would be more helpful. Perhaps none of this matters.

That part in the poll about smartphones is very telling. How in the world is the WHO talking about video game addiction and not social media addiction? You want to talk about dangerous?!? How many people are killed EVERY DAY because people can't put their smartphones down while driving? How about we add another indicator: "Is willing to pursue their addiction while putting in danger other people's lives" and then add social media addiction to the list instead of singling out a largely positive and innocuous passtime like video games.

IMO, if the individual has an addictive personality then anything can become an addiction.

I do think more needs to be done here in the UK to manage people's screen time , specifically smartphones , as I see that having a bigger impact on people's cognitive and communicative abilities.

I liked the last question in the poll, it made me think back to all of the great people I've met through gaming online.

Keeps me sane, happy and entertained. So basically, it does what a book, tv show or movie will do.

I don't buy that gaming is an addiction, no more than people can be interested in any hobby. How is it different to people who enjoy books, music, art, or movies?

Some people simply lack self control and over indulge. It's why the Western world is full of so many fat people. It's puzzling to me personally, but then again, I have willpower.

My problem is that because I don't have time to play I am constantly looking up news and updates on my phone. Probably check NL 20 times a day.

Twenty to twenty-five hours a week myself, give or take. But even more of my free time is split between movies, streaming services, books, music, etc. Video games are my favorite hobby, but certainly not my only hobby.

Anything can be an addiction. If you do anything to an extent that it controls your life then it's time to take a step back and think about what you are doing.

@RazumikhinPG This is what is so stupid. I can't stand that we have no characterize this as a real thing, rather than just a generic addiction disorder. Of course you could abuse video games, just as you could abuse your cell phone, television, board games, social media, music etc... And honestly, I think some of those things are infinitely more harmful (Phone/Social media) for those with an addictive personality.

On the topic of the polls, I probably play 4-6 hours a week. I normally get about an hour a day. Sometimes over that on a weekend, but not usually too much more. I wish I could play more, and I used to play much more. Video games for me, I believe, have had the single greatest impact on who I am today after my Parental & religious upbringing. If I'm brutally honest, those things (Parents/Religion) have had far more negative side effects than video games. Video games are the ultimate art form, combining music, visuals, story telling, puzzle solving, etc... into one. They've helped me develop an appreciation for various types of art, they develop critical thinking skills, develop relationships with other people (Especially during local co-op as a kid), and are largely the reason why I got into my chosen career field (IT). I'd have to really struggle to come up with a potential negative side effect of video games that wouldn't also apply to any type of addiction.

More "illnesses" = More "patients"

While it is important to enjoy yourself, remember to set limits so you don’t become super obsessed!

My doctor plays video games. We're good.

There isn’t an option for intermittent gaming. One week I can play for about an hour. Another I can play for 50 hours. In the news see all these parents and wondering why they aren’t taking the consoles away from their children if they have a problem. Or stop buting them Call of Duty when they are 8 years old.

I’m in the 20+ hr bracket and, gaming has had a negative effect in the past (in conjunction with other things).
If more money is made available and/or gaming addicts are allowed access to services that’s definitely a good thing.

@RazumikhinPG
It’s because access to services may not have been available before whereas now it will be (in theory).

@moroboshi
And empathy. Don’t forget empathy.

@Gerbwmu

This is exactly my stance. Gaming is no different. I am going to voice probably the most unpopular thought and say that this WHO nonsense is less about disorder and more about enabling the lack of self control and discipline.

So often I see perfectly functioning people diminish themselves by saying they have this disorder or that; while there people who are considered physically handicapped such as Nicholas Vujicic and many others live much more fulfilling lives.

I am not saying all disorders are bunk, but speaking from experience, I will say there is a great deal that can be overcome disorders be damned with discipline and faith.

So I'm busy with my internship at the moment, which is around 40 to 45 hours a week. I still need to study for my exams too, so at the moment I don't play games as much as I want to during business days. I play 10 ~ 20 hours a week, which is still a lot.

I'm 100% sure I had an addiction. I failed three years of school (1 year of highschool, two of college which is exactly a year ago) because of gaming. Although playing games are one of the most important things in my life, failing my two years in college wasn't worth it, except that I met my girlfriend and a lot of friends.

So yes, gaming can be an addiction, but anything can. You can play as much as you want, aslong as it doesn't interfere with your obligations (school, work, family, rent) and social life.

I can't say if it could be classified as a "disorder" I just know that too much of anything can certainly be a bad thing. I'll leave classifying it to smarter people than me.

That said, I know so many people who love gaming and like sharing it with others. That's not a bad thing at all. I have friends who come over to my house and we play video games together, and we have a blast. So I think the good definitely outweighs the bad, but I'm sure there are some out there who spend way too much time playing games — to the point of having a negative impact on their life, whatever that may be.

I certainly play a lot of games too, but I think we all need a hobby of some kind to relax after work. I see games as a better use of time, than say, watching tv, cause you're at least doing something (motor skills, puzzle solving, etc).

Find a balance that works for you, and just enjoy gaming for what it is.

I play the Switch maybe 1-2 hours a day most days. When I was younger I’d be more like 3-4 hours of games a day.

@gcunit lol same here 3 and 5 year old really hurt my gaming time that and my wife travelling for work I need them to change day to 28 hours. On plus side i only sleep 4-5 hours a day so i still manage find time for netflix and gaming

There are definitely games designed to be addictive, most of them falling into the "mobile game" and "online multiplayer" categories. Where the game is designed to have people compulsively check progress every several hours, or play a certain number of winning matches every day to maximize free-to-play benefits. Eventually that behavior becomes a habit if left unchecked, and that's when the problems start. And with no story elements or end-goals, they're endless time sinks where you never get the satisfaction of being "done".

It's why I make it a general rule to avoid mobile games, and quit a game cold turkey if I go into one of those forbidden pools and notice I'm playing it more than necessary. If I pull my sister in with me, I always let her know if I was playing too much so she can evaluate her own behavior as well (and usually comes to the same conclusion).

I'm an artist, but lately making art has become harder while gaming has become easier. I've taken measures to tone down my gaming, such as taking on projects with deadlines and leaving my Switch at home when I commute to work, but I often feel like I'm making art (and otherwise working) just enough to justify "taking a break" and giving myself permission to play video games. In other words, the reward for my activities is the gaming, not the things I hope to accomplish with my art and work. That's something I want to change, but I don't want to go cold turkey from gaming, especially since my entire household is family of gamers.

As I've gotten older my amount of time I put into games weekly has gotten a lot less, but that's mostly just because I do other stuff instead of just game. I easily passed the 20+ at times, but even back then I don't think I was addicted, just had even more free time to do nothing.

It kind of sounds like the gaming industry is reacting the way Big Tobacco in the U.S. first did in the late 1980s and early 1990s, first denying that their product was addictive and then suing the regulatory agencies that tried to promote the message that the product was addictive (though the games industry isn't quite there yet). Video games can be addictive (they're designed, knowingly or unknowingly, to activate the pleasure centers of our brain and trigger dopamine rushes... and there's nothing wrong with that, in itself) — not to everyone, but to certain people, certainly. And to the extent that people with that addiction spend time playing video games at the expense of self-care activities (good nutrition and exercise), then it can definitely impact their physical health. Everything in moderation.

That's addiction, what they're describing. Why don't they call it "Gaming Addiction?" "Gaming Disorder" makes it sound like the games are affecting you in other scary days, and it's gonna freak Moms out even more than they are now.

The media has always singled out games, and this is just the latest attempt to beat a dead horse. In the 90s/early-00s it was violence and mature themes. In the mid-00s some kid ran away from home because his parents took his 360 away from him, and the media told everyone that he MUST HAVE been picked up by some stranger he met on Xbox Live, so online gaming services are bad.
Now we're going to treat people that play games like they're an alcoholic. Way to freak out all the parents again.

ANYTHING can be an addiction. But I don't know how being addicted to gaming is any worse than being a cellphone zombie? I think we have more of a wide-spread issue with people gazing at their phones for hours on end and having a symbiotic relationship with it. They can't go to the washroom without it. I've seen people have panic attacks after losing their phone. Why is that acceptable?

I don't have time to read this. I have to go play more games!
Seriously though...anything can become addictive and destructive if you let it. Games, tv, books, sports, excersize, anything. You just have to watch yourself and stay balanced. That's it. I game quite a bit, but I also have a full time job, a wife and 3 kids to play with, I teach kung fu, and I'm an author. Granted, I probably do TOO much, but as long as you monitor yourself, you're fine.

In the Old Days - when ll we had was a Zx81, Dungeons and Dragons RPG was considered to be the work of the Devil. . . .

Personally , having worked at a top University - I thought the Academic banging on about the subject of this article was full of rubbish.

Do they have this for professional sports as well? How people are addicted to ESPN and watching televised sports all year round? Playing fantasy sports, memorizing stats and obsessing over referee calls.

What a load of rubbish, what is it about modern society that people have to constantly blame outside influences for their problems.

Why wasn't this an issue 20 or 30 years ago? There were just as many gamers back then

Only around 4 hours a week for me and if I had time 10+ lol

It all depends on how much free time really. Sometimes I am actually quite busy and others not so much.
Although it is true that video games could suck people in, this is generally because a lot of people have a lack of strong self will and can't make themselves stop.
But video games are not bad, I've met many a friend over my love of games and it's not something to be scoffed at. Video games can change lives for the better

@gaga64 It also wouldn’t make much sense to ask someone who doesn’t play games.

@Bunkerneath
100% correct in my opinion. Kid nowadays go on their phones at the first sign of not having anything to do at all. Whatever happened to books? Or interacting with other people? Phones have become the default and I see people all the time on their phones, even when their friends are right next to them. And this is ok if you're looking something up, but if you're watching a movie with some friends and people are on their phones?

@finalstan Completely agree. I did the same thing with reading fantasy books after my parents divorced (and games, to a lesser extent) so like other people have said, it's easy to replace "gaming" with anything else and claim it's an addiction. And like pretty much everything else, it just depends on the individual and context.

In truth, I think some games do have an addicting or time-altering effect. I know myself that I've stayed up to late hours of the night repeating "One more time" after dying in Binding of Isaac or played Xenoblade Chronicles 2 til 4 in the morning without even accomplishing much. They are addictive in nature, but it never got to the point of missing work or flaking on friends due to gaming. If anything, it helped me talk to people even with my anxiety disorder.

I think social media is a much more worrying source of addiction, as others have pointed out. Maintaining a solely positive image online while comparing yourself to those who are only sharing their best moments have altered the mind to make us believe we are worth less because others seem more happy and successful.

Sorry. This turned into a rant. TL;DR, games aren't the worst, more attention should be brought to Social Media Disorder/Anxiety

I am addicted to gaming but that's ok for me. I'd rather be addicted to gaming than being addicted to crack or heroin.

Had to quit working due to extreme depressions and burn-out, and guess what? I've been playing LESS video games since I quit working a slave job, I've been selling a huge part of my collection,...

Normal, modern day "life" is a disorder, and being functional in such a completely dysfunctional system requires a master in Orwellian "double-think".

I'm not sure if there's any meaning to life, but I AM sure that it's NOT slaving it away for masters, or degrading your life or that of others to nothing but a resource - human or otherwise (meat, clothing, entertainment, workforce...), a means to a selfish end of you or your "masters".

It's not a disorder to want to get away from "life" as it is.

Honestly, I don't get the point of singling out the various "addictions" as separate mental health issues. People can be addicted to anything. It's addiction that the problem, not the thing itself.

Like I always use to say about weed...... "Hey, atleast it's not crack!"

but seriously, I do believe there are certain games that are worse than others. For example Skyrim, I have a friend that started to play that game when it came out and after that I started to see him less and less, until he just stopped coming out the house to hang out or do other productive things. In fact till this day i haven't seen or heard from him, it's like that game sucked him into the fake world of the game and he ended up liking it better. It's sad really. Games should be used as a form of entertainment, and not an escape from your reality.

Remember people, there are no ordinary personality traits anymore. Everything is a disorder and everybody has a disorder.

No we don't.

Just like some people excessively drinking alcohol doesn't mean a reasonable or non-addicted person should assess how much they drink.

Gaming addiction is only a minor problem and more present in East Asia than anywhere else. So please don't blow things out of proportion. Our societies have much bigger issues to deal with.

Man, I think I have Living Disorder, a disorder where I keep living, World Health Organization, get on that.

In all seriousness though, I think they are being too vauge with their classification of gaming disorder, some people could reach close or similar levels of gaming time as this very small addicted minority because that is there favorite or only entertainment option, while other people could enjoy doing a variety of things like reading, watching TV, checking social medias etc.

Guess I need to go to a mental hospital now...

@Silly_G I mentioned this article to my dad and he said the same thing. If it's classed as a disorder they can "treat" it.
Seriously, how many kids are on medication now just because they're energetic and bored at school?

Such a lust for disorders...WHOOOOOOO?!

This isn’t in my revision for ICD-10, nor is a revision for DSM V incoming. I’m not setting up more service exceptions for another F code that could just as well be an NOS with supporting documentation. /work rant.

Working at an agency that helps treat behavioral health disorders, I can definitely agree that any behavior can become a detriment when given priority over other healthy choices. BUT I’m hoping that enough clinicians will use common sense around the parameters of this diagnosis and not make it a fad or pop psychology. We’ve all read the stories of gamers that died playing games due to exhaustion, but what else was also going on in their lives? I really don’t want to see a rash of these “new cases”. Anyone remember ADD in the early 90s? Then they classed it to ADHD to include more youth?

As the email about this came from CMS yesterday, I was taking a break playing my DS.

When I was younger I had more time to spent gaming, but for me it was always a really social part - playing with my brothers or friends.
In scool and wihle studying I enjoyed playing 1 week through in vacacions.

No I have my typical working time and my spare time is less. Besides I have a 1 1/2 year old daughter which not only needs a lot of atention but I am more than happy to spent any minute with her... so my life has other priorities.
Still I find time to relax with a good game. 2 days a week I travel 2h to work and 2h back - for that time I love my switch

But in general I see that i find it more difficult to complete big games as Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (and I love JRPGs) and am more into shorter bursts of Doom, Mario or some indie Game.

Frankly, the WHO can just go shove it where the sun don't shine. Gaming is nowhere near the level of alcoholism, suicide, drug addictions, etc. Which, is exactly what the WHO is classifying gaming under. Just because they all suck at Mario Kart doesn't mean they have to wreck a perfectly legitimate pastime for others. Everything in moderation.

I seriously think that gaming can become an addiction for many people. However, let me share my experience: gaming has always been to me like a portal to another dimension - a carefree one; since I was a kid, and even today, as a married man (and recently dad!) I've been counting on gaming as a stress reliever. I live in a 3rd world country, work more than 50 hours a week, and provide for my family...you get the picture. So, yeah, if I can, I will play my 3ds for 30- 45 minutes per day and fly away a bit. In short: gaming can also be highly therapeutic! ☮️ and WOLOLO

Gaming disorder isn't a thing any more than TV disorder is a thing.

It's funny how people that criticise your gaming habits normally spend more than 20 hours a week watching Netflix...

As everything in life, it depends. I have a simple framework for life, an try to keep everything I do within that framework. My priorities in life are: God>Family>>>Work>Exercise>Reading>Video Games. Video games is last. So I plan my day with the intention of fitting everything but I always mindful that I can not play enough video games, is just a hobby. I do not have time to watch long tv series. The only thing I can watch is 20 minutes of an episode before going to sleep.
Now, If your life is basically just occupied by video games, you have a problem.

Oh boy. Why is it always gaming that gets targeted? People also watch TV and stare at their phones and browse Instagram all day. Maybe once the majority of adults will be those that grew up as video gaming became more a prevalent hobby, this kind of idiocy will go away.

I think that anything can be turned into an addiction. No one on the news talk about people who spend 20+ hours per week reading books. Or watching Netflix. Or playing sports. Why? If playing games for many hours per week may be a symptom of addiction, why isn't it the case when talking about other things?

Some people will say that books and movies can bring meaningful things to people, but then again, if that's true of documentation work, I don't think that's what most people are reading or watching. Most people use books and movies like most people use games, which is, for entertainment. And they'll say sports helps fitness too, which is completely true, but then again, why not criticize those who push aside social activities and responsibilities to go to the gym every day?

The difference, is one of perception. Games are still seen by many as "toys", or similar to "boardgames", like an activity you do occasionaly. Anyone being passionate about them is seen as not being "normal", but instead as "childish", "geeky", and sometimes as "having a problem". Not saying game addiction doesn't exist. It does. But when it's emphasized in the news as much as it is these days, people have a hard time being unbiased about it.

I love how these topics always come up around E3. There was another one elsewhere yesterday about this new WHO report now recognizes gaming addiction as an actual disorder. Not because they discovered it's some now special cognitive problem, but to "help" in identifying and providing treatments (I.E. We're classifying a behavior as a disease not because it's an actual disease but because it helps the bureaucracy function smoother by assigning labels to things that are technically incidental to and not directly related to the actual condition we consider a problem.)

But even they estimated it to be only 3% of gamers. And another "expert" interviewed believed the number was closer to 1% and that most of those even had other underlying problems (meaning the "gaming addiction" isn't actually a condition but a coping mechanism which makes the entire discussion pointless.) So even according to WHO and experts we're talking 1-3% of gamers qualify as "addicts", and among them a significant portion are either not actually gaming addicts at all, or are considered so just to make labeling easier for the bureaucracy.

If I want to know what crazy is, I'll ask a shrink, for clearly he knows!

There certainly are a very tiny portion of actual "addicts"...especially in Asia where there are those reports of people dying by not moving from their chair for weeks while playing, or the kid in China who hadn't moved for who knows how long, and only realized he could no longer walk when he went to go to the bathroom. As they were carting him off to the ambulance, his only concern was begging his friends to keep playing his game so he didn't lose.....kid suddenly can't walk and LoL or whatever is what mattered. Sure, that's addiction. But I also think it's being mislabeled, the addictive properties they mention seem specific to competitive online/moba/mmo format games, most of which are little more than casinos disguised as video games. I.E. it's more a gambling addiction than a "video game addiction" in those cases. It's hard to apply the attributes they mention to the kinds of games most of us here play. The "addiction" type behavior always seems to revolve around "never-ending" type games that actively try to keep you hostage to the game (like gambling machines), versus most of the games most of us around this Nintendo themed site enjoy, where those gambling style addiction mechanisms either don't exist or are superficially in place, most of these kinds of games aren't able to be long term addictions, but are more like a tour bus that takes you from one experience, to the next, and we like to collect as many experiences as we can. We may spend ridiculous amounts of time doing so, but we're seldom addicted to one repeating activity, but rather experiencing a wide breadth of different experiences all under the "gaming" umbrella. We also tend to get bored with one experience and look for a new one frequently which is fairly opposite addiction.

Of course that "1-3%" figure from more "official" channels is probably right in line with that concept. The article cited in this story is the one that gets it wrong by being too broad. Rather than listing those actual single activity addictions (that seem fairly uncommon outside Asia for some reason) This broadly defines "spending too much time playing" and "interfering with other things" which does not define addiction when referring to a hobby/activity instead of a substance that actually builds dependency. Compare game playing time that such studies presume "excessive" to the average TV watching hours in America? Are most americans "TV addicts?" to these organizations? How about model train building (that's an EXPENSIVE never ending hobby that demands obsessive time)? Reading? How about exercise fanatics always at the gym? Workaholics that work 80 hour weeks then take their work home and work all night, all weekend? These studies tend to give a pass to what they (personally) define as beneficial behavior (for their idea of a perfect social structure of healthy fit people who dedicate all their time to working and serving others? I recall a few mid-20th century European and Chinese gentleman that had similar ideas.) while ignoring that by their litmus test for something like gaming, almost all humans are "addicted" to one thing or another.

This criteria here is far too broad, but their own actual numbers said about 3% which still seems too broad, but does tell us they at least recognize some difference. The problem is, how do you identify a hobby/passtime/passion that is not a single activity but an umbrella that envelops a tremendous collection of different experiences, all of which take dedication, commitment, and skill to successfully experience compared to passive activities like movie watching, as a singular "addiction" when both addicted and normal behavior involves dedicated focus of considerable time to successfully be a participant of the activity? And how is that different than learning to play/write music, competing in atheletics, cabinet making, or pretty much any dedication one has? The only difference I can tell is that the analyzing organization sees the latter as "socially beneficial" and the former as "not" while all are equally required to put effort and focus into being successful.

MMO/Moba, being the outlier where the game actually is designed to addict people using gambling systems, however that's a small corner of "video games" to paint the entire concept under one broad brush.

Gamers are generally exploratory/curious, competitive (even with themselves), like problem solving, and have a determination to see goals successfully completed...those we continuously spend as much time as we can gaming as it both satisfies, mystifies, and tests all these attributes. So how do you tell addiction from passion/focus?

By the standards here, every single competitive athelete, and especially Olympians, along with most musicians, all have a "problem" to be cured (no doubt with addictive drugs under the supervision of a medical provider? )

I find it curious how for drug/smoking/alcohol addicts they'll often try to refocus their compulsions into non-harmful activities they can focus on. And then they take a group of people focused on non-harmful activities and tell them that's bad. So should be start hitting the chardonnay? Is there a minimum variety of activity they prescribe? Perhaps they could just have Google tell us where to be and when to be there and how happy to appear, and if we fail we can have "rehabilitation sessions"? Should we buy our $100 a pill meds that are completely habit forming, but as long as a "professional" tells us its ok we can just be addicted forever to cure our awful video game addictions? Yes, I'm certain that's the one....

All this from the organization that failed to manage real epidemics very well with Zika, Ebola, and even the return of the Black Death after eight centuries! I'm so glad they've got our backs on video game addiction. I see real success in this effort!

I also agree with the many that have said social media is way more serious a problem. For that matter my NintendoLife addiction is the one interfering in my life more than games. It's even interfering with my games!

Doctors eh....they would have little issue with you watching T.V all night.

I'll tell my tale just to give a perspective. I fell truly "in love" with gaming as a hobby when I was 7, playing SMB for the first time in my life. Hand eye coordination came second nature though I had never held a controller, and it was a fun I had never knew before then. I grew up, still playing sports, watching TV, riding my bike, going to the movies, working, school, etc., but when I had down time at home or on the road, I got some gaming in, usually 1-5 hours, unless friends were over, then it became closer to 8, but rarely. I never went out of my way to game or buy games when I knew there were bills to pay or chores to do, but rather I did it when time allowed-- No different than a person investing time in a gripping novel. From parents to girlfriend, they'd all grill me at one time or another that I play too much which wasn't true, it was lack of understanding "why" I played video games and why I would seize what opportunities I could. Looking back, and thinking of today, I play as an escape and stress reliever. To each their own, but I owe a debt of my sanity to gaming as there's far worse habits/hobbies/etc. Thank goodness they exist. I'm an adult with a lot of preoccupied time these days and have scaled back a lot of gaming, but I will likely never 100% quit. Just have to game responsibly.

i think we as a culture nowadays spend a lot of time using technology, but I feel more productive when i play a video game versus just watch tv hours on end or sit on my phone.

at least games are goal oriented and in my opinion i'd argue are actually easier to put down and do something else then TV and internet browsing / smart phone use. your brain is more active when you are playing a game than other activities people use to pass the time.

@johnvboy Of course not! The more TV you watch, the more ads you'll see to "ask your doctor what Disdastronshizyo can do for you! (side effects include death, heart attack, stroke, anal leakage, and video game addiction)" See, it's HELPING you!

If all games were like Max Payne, the medical industry would subsidize gaming!

So, for the choices, how do I know I win?

If it influences the brain's dopamine system, it has the potential to become an addiction, games included. While not in the DSM (yet), I can say from personal experience that the behavioural patterns I've seen exhibited by some gamers, myself included, are quite congruent with other forms of addiction such as gambling addiction and substance abuse disorder. Of course, as with anything else in psychology, further research is needed.

Hey, as long as I get important stuff taken care of and don't prioritise vg, over relationships, food, rent, and other necessities who cares if I game.

Gaming was definitely an unhealthy obsession of mine when I was younger. Nowadays it's simply a nice break or distraction from the stressors in my life. My answers in the poll matched up with the most popular choices.

@Farts_Ahoy. I think you meant sedentary.

As a very dedicated gamer, and as a doctor with lot of experience in mental health and investigation, let me tell you something guys.

Videogaming has been a hobby since the early seventies.
Social media in your phone have been a thing for around...one decade?

Revisions on the disease catalog for the WHO require TONS and I mean TONS of evidence in order to be included. We need studies that follow people with the issue for many years, and said studies need to be repeated and repeated in different countries, different ages, different genders, etc. in order to reach conclusions that actually can be considered for a worldwide organization.

Wait for the next revision in 20 years, you will see social media just next to the videogame disorder. But of course, by then, your children will be mad because the FluxenGojimbo addiction is not included instead.

@carlos82

Human beings have been blaming outside influences probably since the caveman days.

Men/women are automatically bad. Don't trust them.

The devil/evil spirits are ruining our lives.

Other cultures/religions/political parties/races are to blame.

The youth/old people are to blame.

Books/music/dancing/education/sex/movies/games are leading the world astray.

So yeah. Definitely not a modern thing.

I'm a psychologist and there's no such thing. Any thing can addict, even pain, and gaming isn't different, but to put as a particular disorder is a joke.

I just think back to a story about a 80 year old widow who filled her days playing video games instead of being lonely.

Of course it can be addictive. Anything can be.

What I dislike about this whole "gaming addiction" discussion is that it is always being made way too simple.
You play a lot, so you are addicted? If you play a lot in a week, but play some vastly different games then can that even be an addiction?
Maybe you can be addicted to a game.
Maybe you can be addicted to a certain kind of games.
Can you be addicted to gaming in generel though? Seems unlikely to me, since, apart from sitting down and pressing buttons, different games are different activities.

For people that have no idea about gaming themselfs it looks like we are doing the exact same thing all the time. Even with experts about addictions, we have to ask: Are they aware of how diverse games can actually be? I think this is already a point where a lot of misunderstandings and wrong accusations start.

"Could you give up playing video games if you had to?"
That's kind of a loaded question on the poll, which I didn't answer, as it simply asks "are you so addicted you can't give it up"? It omits the more likely answer for participants on this site: Is it your primary hobby/passion and therefore you would not choose to give it up unless for some reason you had no other choice. A musician does not give up their craft, even with disability they find a way to retain a piece of their beloved activity. A deeply passionate athlete doesn't give up their hobby, even fighting back from injury, near-death injury, to get back. Even participating in "para" versions of their sport or others just to get back into the sport. A gamer who is passionate will not "give up" that activity if there is any way not to have to because it's a part of their identity. Like those musicians and atheletes, a gamer that's played for decades from childhood has developed that skillset as part of their person, and without it one would be incomplete, not because of "addiction" but because something, specifically an activity/knowledge/skill that has been a significant part of you your whole life can't simply be removed. It has a history, it has memories, it has hours of frustration, moments of joy, it can be a slideshow of your own life. Could that be given up? If we're talking life & death hostage situations, sure, but the question is, why would someone choose to give up something they value enough to work through adversity to enjoy?

@DrJiggle Big tobacco had a much different problem. It wasn't merely that they knew it was addictive and lied about it. They were actively chemically altering it to make it as absolutely chemically addictive as they possibly could, not just a behavioral addiction but an actual physical dependence......and then pretended they didn't believe it to be addictive at all. They're about one step better than a meth lab and "dealer" network.

@Tyranexx It's so true! Most of the commercials are self referential. The blood pressure medication that may cause heart attacks. The liver medication that may cause liver damage. My favorites are the acne medication that may cause stroke, death, numbness of limbs, etc. etc. etc. I'll stick with the pimples thanks! They won't kill me or cause insurmountable pain. And of course there's the depression medications that "may cause suicidal (or homicidal!) thoughts"....doesn't that kind of defeat the point? OF course they key word is "may". The meteorologists said there was a 20% chance of it raining. Then it got really dark and the trees started swaying. Problem with statistics is if you're in the 20%, then it was a 100% chance that it's true Looks great on a spreadsheet though. At the risk of being "old", I remember when medicine wasn't "modern medicine", where doctors didn't run 10 tests in 3 facilities to please the ambulance chasing lawyers....they examined, asked questions, and made diagnoses, and most of the time magic pills were not the solution. No doubt there's a million "out of modern med school (sponsored by Merck!)" practitioners that would insult that old way in favor of the improvement of the new way. But I've met enough grizzled old doctors who mostly solemnly nod in agreement, usually followed by a story of how corporate interests took over the university program they used to teach and squeezed out medicine for money and politics, to know it's not my imagination. Those guys usually call it right with little more than a glance. No $3.2M machine needed. Shame they're all retiring out now and we're left with textbook medicine.

To add some more stuff to my previous post that is rarely being considered:

• If you neglect something more important for gaming, does that mark you as an addict? Possibly, but it may also be that you are just setting your priorities wrong. Spending most of your free time doing what you love is nothing special after all and maybe you underestimate the importance of some other things. You should correct then too of course, but an addiction is more than that.
• The old argument of "you get a bit agressive when someone disturbs you while gaming". Let's make another example: You are playing a championship game as a football player and suddenly your mother stands on the sideline and wants you to "pause the game", only to then find out that it was not even remotely important. Would getting angry at that make you an football addict? Of course you should keep your cool in the gaming case especially since the other person simply doesn't know any better, but this isn't necessarily an addiction.

...
I do think you can be gaming addicted, but you really have to be careful with the reasons for thinking that.

Companies like EA EXPLOIT addictive behavior through games like Galaxy of Heroes.
-The game is set up like a casino with "loot boxes".
-You have to sign in throughout the day for free rewards that expire after a couple hours, keeping you engaged throughout the day.
-It's all wrapped up in a Star Wars package, we all know how rabid Star Wars fans are...

So yes, I believe gaming addiction is real and some companies know this and exploit it.

When I get into gaming spurts, I can game for about 2hrs a night, Monday-Friday, but I don't always play that much, and on weekends, it is relatively the same. I also go through spurts of not playing any games.

Fact is: I can't always be gaming, and I can't always use my free time to be on social media, or online in general. Sometimes, I game, other times, I do not. And this is on top of the fact that those things are not priority in my life. I have responsibilities. What time I have, I have to balance, and sometimes, I have to choose to cut something, while doing something else. Therefore, I rotate.

Also, you might actually get more sense out of asking the Doctor, than you would from this "WHO". Just wait for the Tardis, then you can ask him,... or her as the case currently is.

@Aaron09 true. I guess my issue then is more with the problem of self diagnosis

When i was younger and had no friends and had to deal with problems at home with my parents i usually spent up to 20 hrs playing snes. It helped me greatly during those rough times. Now as an adult i still spend a decent amount playing games but definitely not as much as before.

Misspent youth video gaming. No regrets. did I miss out on somethings? probably... Did I stay up too late playing video games? Yep, but I've pulled more all-nighters when my boys were babies. Did I spend more time on video games compared to homework? Yeah, but I also spent more time working than on homework and gaming combined. If anything, wish I spent more time on Nintendo games and less on PC ones, and had spent more time in school, to make more money, to buy more video games!!

@Solomon_Rambling Your argument is well stated and reasoned, and I think most here will agree with it. And yes, we know we're not addicts, which is kind of our point

But that's not how this finding will be used. This will be used by media, and the endless supply of poor practitioners (it seems for ever one competent practitioner there are a dozen quacks...not just in medicine, but in most fields, that know the textbook answers, but don't truly UNDERSTAND their field in a native way, while conversely there are many people that don't know as many textbook answers and never achieve "status" in their field, yet have a far more native, natural understanding of what they're looking at.) It will be used as a ideological purge via labeling of "undesirable behavior" in favor of the established social standard (not unlike the Chinese social scoring system will reduce the social score of anyone playing video games more than 10 hours (they did not say per day, per week, or ever.)

If what you described is how it was to be used, it would have been clearly stated, and there would be no uproar. We've been 'round this merry go round many, many times now. We recognize the melody.

Still, at least there's someone like you putting real context on it....this may be the last of that we see on the internet all year

", myself, am not fully sold on gaming disorder as a diagnosis, but if the diagnosis, itself, will lead to more research and treatment options for those who legitimately struggle with gaming behavior, then I support those "

This is something that troubles me, though. I've seen, in unrelated fields in the science world, the emphasis on "help people even if we bend the definitions" seldom ends well. Science is science. Bending or stretching definitions because "the outcome will be better for more people" tends to, long term, lead to irreparable harm. The bent definition becomes gospel eventually, and then used as supporting evidence elsewhere, and then anything that contradicts it becomes heretical, and actual science becomes lost. Science and Humanities ought to remain separate for the good of both. They uncomfortably cross in medicine, but research and facts should never be stretched for "improved outcomes." For the people it helps today, it's more likely to harm many more 10, 50, 100 years from now, almost always in unpredictable, unforeseeable ways.

@Tyranexx Yeah, I trust pharmaceuticals so little, I don't even do pain killers....just bite down hard and endure the pain until it heals They sell it as a magic cure-all. In reality it's a trade-off. One potentially harmful thing that might help something else. But modern medicine is educated to prescribe the cure-alls without informing people that you're taking a calculated risk and that you need to weigh that risk. Is the benefit worth the risk of worse conditions it may cause? And since Big Pharma owns the med schools that own the rules committees/regulations they get their policies pushed.

Of course a cancer medication that may cause stroke...well...you get 100% chance of death from disease A and a 50% chance of death from medication B....well the risk explains itself. A heart medication that may worsen the condition....it's a risk...how do you trust your odds of natural healing/stability versus introducing a new risk? Acne medication that may cause death.....you really need to evaluate your priorities. But medicine today never conveys the risks, they just tell you "take this", it'll help. And I've seen pharmacists know far more about what the drug does than the doctor that prescribes it and why it may not be a good idea. When you need supermarket pharmacists to inform you better than a doctor does....WHY would I actually take these potent toxins unless I was sure there was no reasonable alternative? They're a good option....but they're the #4 industry in the US.....drugs should never be the leading industrial roster....something is very very wrong if they are. And nobody should ever be "asking your doctor about" what drug you'd like them to give you. If you need it, they should be letting you know. Consumer marketing of serious drugs is just terrifying.

When will they add watching TV to the list of mental health disorders

@Solomon_Rambling @Nestalgia I don't have to much more to add, I feel your conversation touches on a lot of key points and both sides articulated them well. My only gripe with this whole notion is why is it a separate disorder at all? Why act like "gaming disorder" is different than any other non-physical addiction? I'm not against recognizing it as a type of addiction, but it seems silly to "officially" recognize it as an addition, when there are hundreds of other activities or behaviors that could also be addictions.

@MeloMan cheers, sir!

Some of the question for me is torn between which is best to answer.

Like Roughly how many hours a week do you play games?

Well that depends on mood. I can sometime go without playing any games, touch any system for weeks or months. so the answer is not even An hour
Sometime, my system is not switched off. So my answer is excess more than 20 hours

Do you think it's possible to be addicted to video games?

Depend on how strong the person is/are. Some gets easily addicted. Other believe is balance.
I’m not sure is not an answer. Because the answer is “yes AND no”

The rest are pretty straight forward answer.

Gaming can be also a little escape. Being in a different world and with your mind in that game. That's what I like about gaming

@Solomon_Rambling Indeed, despite so much more study, so much of the field is still built on the grounds of not even understanding the full range of human behaviors and cause and effect upon them. I think, like meteorology, it's a field still too new to be truly practical because it's not fully understood. It really ought to be in a primarily research and data finding phase rather than these constant attempts to practically apply it (and then the inevitable backtrack 20, years later.) The actual practice of it can be useful in spots, but can't really be relied upon. Not that physical medicine escapes that trap as often as it should, but I feel at times the "mental health" industry hasn't evolved as far from shock therapy as it likes to think it has. It just replaced the electrodes with pills and called it a day. Though it's a larger trend in science overall that nobody ever wants to say "I don't know." "Inconclusive data" is a phrase forgotten across the board. Not just mental health, but medicine overall, hard sciences, everywhere.

FWIW, I don't know where you sit in the field in terms of status or your credentials, but just from your post here, it's evident that no matter the status, position, or book knowledge, you're one of the rare 5% that actually understands the field, as it was meant to be interpreted, rather than those that can pass endless tests and certifications, and understand nothing that make up the other 95%. Sadly there's probably little monetary reward for that, and arguably, the opposite is true, the other group is the more rewarded, but at least there's satisfaction in that. Your understanding was more "on point" that most of the "highly respected" talking heads from the field weighing in in the mainstream press.

@Yorumi Indeed, especially where anything WHO comes into play (or any global body on almost anything) I immediately assume politics is first and foremost on the agenda. I've sometimes thought that games is a political target in part because it very much DOES train the mind to seek patterns from distractions and seek inconsistencies and solutions: Exactly what every politician (or purchaser of) doesn't want a public capable of.

However it's also possible that this one rose to prominence specifically because it has been, in Asia, a sharper problem than it has here, drawing more attention it in that hemisphere. CN and SK have been pushing heavily at a political level to address it....it seems to be most common in those two countries, even more than Japan. Japan just has a bunch of Nintendo gamers, some of them unhealthily reclusive (but in Japan, the unhealthy reclusive thing is almost becoming popular, so....that's still just "Japan gotta Japan") SK and CN do have a weirdly large number of kids dying or rotting in internet cafes. That's the weird thing there, they don't even rot away and die in seclusion playing games at home, they do it in public stores! So the situation there is definitely a different one than most other places. SK even issued a curfew for minors playing (online) games after 10:00pm.

50/50, it's because it's political, or "it's not really about the West more than incidentally." (But it won't stop western media/politicians from picking it up and running.)

“It's clear then that the WHO doesn't rush into things or make rash judgments...”

I don't think that's at all clear. The WHO is no stranger to making counter-logical declarations for political purposes.

@Yorumi Indeed. We'd have to follow the money. How much do those countries fund the WHO (probably a lot, as major industrial producer countries), and if they raise "we need THIS issue looked into!" that's the issue they look into. Not addictions, but "gaming." The only upside is "internet addiction" is next on their list?

@Rayquaza2510 i agree, i have gaming as my main hobbeis, NOT as an addiction

I've told my wife many times that if we were ever to break up I would rebound with my backlog instead of other women.

Anything can become a mental addiction, shopping for example is classified as a disorder when defined under mental addiction.

@Bunkerneath Social media has gotta be by far the most common mental addiction facing 21'st century humans in general. The amount of people who are constantly glued to their phones and social media sites/apps is just scary.

Video games have replaced my excessive alcohol use, so I guess I'm doing better.

The same kind of addictions can apply to the internet, social media, forums...
I play more than 20 hours a week and I've been able to play a lot more since I managed to stop browsing the internet so much...
I think I need gaming but I don't think that's a bad thing, my mind is more positive when it has videogames to focus on than when it doesn't, so I'd say that it has a helpful effect.

How much do I play?

Not enough, that's how much.

i like the question, does it effect ur life in a positive way? certainly does. I would probably be wanting to hang out with my friends getting in trouble or not spending time at home like I should be. gaming keeps me wanting to be home and be with the family instead of out gallivanting haha

I'm sure I average at least 10 hours a week, but rarely 20 unless there's a special occasion. I do think that video games can be an addiction like any rewarding experience can be. I'm sure my love of video games has negatively impacted some parts of my life, but it has also positively impacted a lot, if for no other reason than doing anything always takes time away from other things.

Could I give up video games, completely? I honestly don't know. I think you'd be hard pressed to find anyone that's able to give up something they are passionate about.

I have 'work disorder'
Work gives me 1) impaired control over life (eg., I am forced to get up early in the morning to get to work); 2) increasing priority given to work to the extent that work takes precedence over other life interests and daily activities (eg., I NEED to spend more time at work than I do in my hobbies such as gaming); and 3) continuation or escalation of working despite the occurrence of negative consequences (eg., unpaid overtime eats into my personal time).

I have a sickness.... -_-;

@Stocksy As a mental health professional, this comment, and the whole article, is so out of touch it isn't funny. Video game addiction, like other kinds of psychological addiction, is not about time spent - it's about impaired functionality. I've treated people who have dropped out of school, cut off all social contact with friends and family, stopped eating, and lost all sense of direction in life because of their gaming. In several cases related to an MMO that came out a few years ago, patients stopped sleeping in order to keep up with boss respawns, getting by with an hour or two a night for months on end and became ill enough to require hospitalisation. Many of these, and others I have treated, came of their own volition and without prompting from friends or family because they could feel their lives going off the rails but simply could not stop themselves.

These are not 'normal' gamers, but their condition is severe and debilitating enough, and alien enough to other existing mental health paradigms, that it would simply be irresponsible and harmful to pretend that they could be grouped under the umbrella of other existing disorders and treated -without- reference to problematic gaming.

The same is true of pornography, which you helpfully mention. Regular use isn't the problem. The problem is that a small subset of users use to such an extent that they find themselves significantly impaired in other areas of their lives - generally, in intimate relationships.

THAT is the pattern of behavior that the WHO is trying to address, not people spending a lot of time gaming.

@Solomon_Rambling As a mental health researcher and practitioner, it is possible that the largest problem with mental health research is that mental health is not researchable using scientific methods. Attempts to differentiate 'evidence based' treatments from non-evidence based treatments have generally served only to separate those treatments with are more easily researchable from those that aren't. Trauma, in general, is very easy to study. Differences in the brain are observable, and impairment is localised around the traumatic incident such that there is a clear delineation between the subject's behaviour before and after the incident, and a clear goal for therapy. CBT with exposure techniques for trauma is very easy to study because it is clearly structured, can be administered individually at any point after the traumatic event, and is focusing on a specific and single incident. Critical incident stress debriefing is much, much harder to study, since it requires a group of bystanders with the same level of exposure to be assembled -immediately- after a traumatic incident has occured. Person-centered therapy for depression is magnitudes harder to study than either, since it is open-ended, holistic, and heavily dependent on the personality of the therapist. All the same, the most replicated finding in mental health is widely known as the 'dodo verdict.' This basically means that all forms of therapy are largely equally efficacious provided the practitioner is liked by the patient, believes in his or her methods, and is consistent with their application.

With the vast majority of other mental health conditions, there is nothing objective to observe. Depression is widely thought to be related to serotonin imbalance (though even this is controversial and extremely under-researched), but no study has ever demonstrated how, if at all, a depressed person's brain chemistry differs from a healthy person's, or even how that depressed person's chemistry differs before and after suffering and recovering from depression.

In general, we assess mental health based on patients' reports of their level of impairment, which is obviously subjective and which changes dramatically with normal life change. I have seen patients, for example, who ran the gamut of talk and drug therapy, tried everything under the sun, and made no improvement, only to have large scale lifestyle change forced upon them and suddenly find they were 100% improved. This also presents a secondary problem: mental health is implicitly socially normative, which means people can be perfectly happy but still 'ill' because their behavior does not conform to social expectations of them. ADHD falls under this heading. So does antisocial personality disorder and, to an extent, avoidant personality disorder. This is partially why stigmitization exists - a large chunk of mental health disorders can be summarized as 'they can't behave the way society wants.'

Unfortunately, though, that is how it has to be because the alternative is leaving people like my patients bereft of any kind of effective help. No research means no funding - studies like the WHO study are imperative, despite possible stigmitization, to ensure that the outliers are able to grab onto something when they feel the need to reach out. Is it really worthwhile for someone who is actually killing himself due to his gaming addiction to wind up actually ruining his life just so casual gamers can engage in their hobby without fear of being told that playing too much is bad for them?

People freaking binge Nteflix and Hulu for 12 hours a day what the h

This has turned into a great thread to read, and the input from those in the mental health profession is really insightful. Thank you.

@WaterDemonBaku I did think that to myself later, I think it was studied that people (I think in the UK) watch TV on average for 4hrs a day or something close to that number. Let that sink in: 4hrs/day, ON AVERAGE.

I use to play a lot, but over time....or within the past year I don't play nearly as much, but that's not to say I don't enjoy them anymore, really excited for the new smash and waiting for new stuff.

@bmumble same here, mate... same here...

@Undead_terror Same here. I don't play all that much anymore and I am giving up a my gaming collection but I'm always looking for new games on PC and for the Switch.