IS GAMING ADDICTION REALLY A DISORDER?

From my last post, I talked about my take on why people think gaming is a waste of time. While going through my Twitter feed, I chanced upon this article from a very reputable media company talking about the World Health Organization's (WHO) claim that gaming addiction is a form of mental disorder.

They did mention near the end of the article that it isn't official yet and needs further study as they haven't exactly quantified how could an individual be considered to have this disorder. I guess it's similar to any kind of addiction but personally as a gamer, it is less destructive compared to gambling for instance.


As a person into gaming, it has its benefits. For those into multiplayer games, it is a channel for social activities. This is the chance for people to connect with others via the Internet. I can attest to this as I have met a ton of people online both here and abroad through massive multiplayer online  role playing games (MMO RPG). It has also improved my spoken and written English as well. Strategy games like the Civilization series helped my critical thinking and resource management skills.

I guess what drives the addiction for some people is that there is that need to achieve since they cannot achieve anything significant in real life. I know that's why there are times I can't stop gaming: I feel like a failure in real life so maybe at least in a video game, there is something I can say that I'm good at.

Hopefully it doesn't become officially a disorder. Plus parent's can help out by at least trying to understand what games are and how does it mold their kid's everyday life. Take for example, Rick Fox.

Some years after he retired from professional basketball, he got involved in eSports by purchasing the spot of Gravity Gaming, a defunct professional League of Legends team, and started Echo Fox.

When he was interviewed, he said that the reason why he got into eSports was because he wanted to connect with his son.

He saw that this was something his son believed in and he wanted to be a part of it. He even went ahead and tried to learn the game by playing with his son. They even have a YouTube channel showing them trying to learn different game during their free time.

In closing, my bias and personal take is that gaming is a hobby and not a disorder. It only becomes a disorder when people stop having a real life in exchange for a virtual one.