Gaming Disorder-Definition, Causes and Associated Impacts

Table of Contents

Gaming Disorder- Relevance for UPSC Exam

GS Paper 2: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health.

Recently, the parents of a 15-years old kid took him to the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences.
- They were worried about the sudden behavior changes in their teenager after he got into the habit of binge online gaming, spending more than 7-8 hours a day, playing online games.
Diagnosis: Their son was diagnosed with gaming addiction, a disorder that is quickly growing as the pandemic spurred increased use of Internet devices.

Background: In 2018, the World Health Organization categorized gaming disorder as a mental health condition and included it into the International Classification of Diseases- 11 (ICD-11).
- The situation has worsened further as the pandemic increased screen time across age groups.
Definition: According to the WHO classification, gaming disorder is a pattern of gaming behavior (digital-gaming or video-gaming) characterized by impaired control over gaming, increasing priority given to playing the game over other activities to the extent that it takes precedence daily routines.
WHO’s Diagnosis Protocol: For the gaming disorder to be diagnosed, the behaviour pattern must be in the extent such severity that there is significant impairment in personal, family, social, educational and occupational.
- The observation period should be at least 12 months.

Increasing popularity of online video games: especially in the context of widespread use of smartphones, affordable data packages, and particularly free-to-play online games.
Intensify already existing mental health issues: Video games act as the only affordable release at the end of a long workday or for depression. Other mental health problems, like anxiety, could play a role too.
The ambiance of an Individual also plays an important role: sometimes in the situation when an individual has to move to someplace where s/he doesn’t have friends, family, or previous hobbies, so games will quickly become the only thing that gives him/her joy.

Affecting social relations: people indulging in gaming addiction can result in significant impairment in personal, family, social, educational or occupational areas.
Impact on health: Gaming disorder can lead to disturbed sleep patterns, diet problems and deficiency in physical activities.
Economic Impact: They can also be very time-consuming, leaving addicted gamers with less time to focus on their education or career.