NEW DELHI: The World Health Organization (WHO) on May 25th took an interesting decision where it officially recognizes gaming addiction as an illness.
In the 11th Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) of the World Health Organization (WHO), the official definition of gaming disorder is-
“A pattern of persistent or recurrent gaming behavior (‘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 behavior pattern is of sufficient severity to result in significant impairment in personal, family, social, educational, occupational or other important areas of functioning.”
There are many people who laugh off at a decision like this but gaming addiction if left unchecked, would ultimately result in ‘negative consequences.’
WHO, on its website says it made its “decision on inclusion of gaming disorder in ICD-11 based on reviews of available evidence and reflects a consensus of experts from different disciplines and geographical regions that were involved in the process of technical consultations undertaken by WHO in the process of ICD-11 development.”