Top image: Still, South Park, Make Love, Not Warcraft (2006)

As the Switzerland-based World Health Organisation looks to update their record of mental health disorders, it does not come as a surprise that it is turning to the latest technology-promoted conditions. Now, its 11th and latest International Classification of Diseases (ICD) will include the condition “gaming disorder.”

The WHO defines the disorder as a “persistent or recurrent” behaviour pattern of “sufficient severity to result in significant impairment in personal, family, social, educational, occupational or other important areas of functioning.”According to BBC, the draft document describes it as a pattern of persistent or recurrent gaming behaviour so severe that it takes “precedence over other life interests”.

The condition is also defined by the “continuation or escalation of gaming despite the occurrence of negative consequences” – in order to be diagnosed, these behaviours must be evident over a period of at least twelve months. 

While some countries had already identified it as a major public health issue, particularly South Korea, where the government has introduced a law banning access for children under sixteen from online games between twelve and six am, in 2018, WHO aims to impose a uniform standard worldwide.

The trend of video game addiction has been growing steadily. One study from Oxford found that 2-3 percent of self-identified video gamers showed symptoms of addiction, while another poll found that 10 percent of gamers admitted to spending 12-24 hours at a time glued to their consoles. 

Dr Richard Graham, the lead technology addiction specialist at the Nightingale Hospital in London, revealed that he sees about fifty new cases of digital addiction each year and seeks to identify whether the activity is affecting basic things such as sleep, eating, socialising and education.