The World Health Organization recently announced their plans to categorize gaming addiction as a mental health condition.
But not everyone agrees that gaming is a real mental illness...
Among the concerns for the classification, there is the disagreement over whether there are clear diagnostic criteria to help psychologists determine what constitutes a gaming disorder.
Critics also say that it isn't the games themselves that people might be addicted to, but that they might be using the gaming as a coping mechanism to deal with stress, depression, or anxiety in their life. And that what is being seen as a gaming disorder might only be a symptom of a separate health issue.
The discussion has prompted some to re-visit the consideration of what should or shouldn't constitute a disorder or disease.
For those who don't think that there is good reason to have gaming addiction listed as a mental health concern, they worry that such a misguided diagnosis could really end-up causing people a lot of unintended harm.
But for those who see the validity in the designation that the WHO has announced, they hope that it can fuel the development of a medical model to address the issue. No doubt this could mean giving people who might not need it some powerful pharmaceuticals that could have life-long consequences.
Voicing Concerns...
26 scholars who work in the area of study surrounding behavioral effects of gaming, previously released a report that concluded there still wasn't enough research to support the assumption that video game addiction is a real disease.
In one previous review that was published in the Journal of Behavioral Addictions, it was suggested that between 10-15 percent of young people in several Asian countries might be 'addicted to gaming', and about 1-10 percent of those in Western nations.
Many studies have been conducted to analyze the notion of a gaming addiction, some turning up negative results, while others have suggested something otherwise.
There are some studies that have found that playing video games might help to foster learning, improve motor skill development, and could improve academic success, among providing other possible benefits.
With this recent move from the WHO, there is the worry that it could stigmatize gamers. And critics have suggested that this move by the WHO was one that was rooted in politics rather than science.
Despite the disagreement, many on either side of the discussion have expressed the need for further research attention in this area. Those who study human behavior want to see more studies conducted in order to better understand gaming behavior and if possible, develop appropriate measures for diagnosis and treatment to any possible addiction. Even those who have signaled support for the recent decision by the WHO, have admitted that the definition of addiction for gaming still isn't all that clear.
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Posted for information purposes only.
Sources:
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/01/gaming-addiction-is-now-seen-as-a-mental-health-condition-by-the-who?utm_content=buffer535db&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
https://www.usnews.com/opinion/policy-dose/articles/2017-03-10/no-video-game-addiction-is-not-a-disease
http://jacksonville.com/entertainment/news/health-and-fitness/2018-01-16/fit-life-gaming-addiction-real-disorder
https://gizmodo.com/is-video-game-addiction-unscientific-bullshit-1821606678
http://www.vocativ.com/327278/action-video-games-can-actually-boost-your-capacity-to-learn/index.html
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/01/10/proposal-classify-video-game-addiction-disease-divides-academics
http://buzz.bournemouth.ac.uk/2018/01/world-health-organisation-say-gaming-addiction-mental-health/
https://macaudailytimes.com.mo/scholar-hopes-studies-video-gaming-addiction-macau.html
https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/312427/ESA_rebukes_World_Health_Organization_gaming_disorder_classification.php
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