Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
World Health Organization Draft Recognizes Gaming Addiction
The World Health Organization, the health arm of the United Nations, has included a recognition of gaming addiction in their newest internal classification of diseases revision.
That classification, or the ICD-11, is due out in 2018 and the current draft points to prioritization of gaming above all else and impaired control over the act as behavior indicating an addiction.
“The behavior pattern is of sufficient severity to result in significant impairment in personal, family, social, educational, occupational, or other important areas of functioning,” reads the current WHO draft. “The gaming behavior and other features are normally evident over a period of at least 12 months in order for a diagnosis to be assigned, although the required duration may be shortened if all diagnostic requirements are met and symptoms are severe.”
Official recognition means that it's likely official diagnoses are likely not far down the line.
[Source: World Health Organization ICD-11]
Our Take
Gaming addiction and poor impulse control has a death count at this point, so it it took a while in the first place to be recognized. Still, hopefully now treatments can be designed. The common assumption of gaming addiction is that it's a 20 year-old playing Starcraft and neglecting their lives but it can affect anyone with a phone, keyboard, or controller at this point.
I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.
Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.
It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
