The World Health Organization (WHO), through its International Classification of Diseases, has identified addiction to video games and digital games as a mental health disorder.
The classification by the World Health Organization (WHO), a reference to recognized diseases, describes addiction to video games and digital games as a pattern of continuous or repetitive play that becomes too excessive to take precedence over other life concerns.
"Some of the worst cases seen in global research have been those who are playing games for up to 20 hours a day," said Shekhar Saxena, director of the WHO's Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse. "They do not sleep, eat meals, work or study, Daily activities.
He stressed that only a small minority of people engaging in digital games and video games could be a problem, but said monitoring early warning signs could help prevent it.
In response to the decision to add game addiction to the list of mental health disorders, the Video Game Coalition, a lobbying group supporting the sector, said its products "enjoy it safely and moderately more than 2 billion people around the world" across various devices and platforms.
"The educational, therapeutic and recreational value" of the Games is widely recognized and recognized, he said, urging WHO to reconsider its view. As quoted by "Reuters".