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Too much gaming is mental health issue

Gaming Disorder - Level 0

The WHO has put "gaming disorder" on its list of diseases. Gaming disorder happens when people cannot stop gaming. It becomes more important than everything in life. Someone with gaming disorder will play even if they know they have big problems. Gaming disorder happens if problems continue for a year.

The WHO said doctors should know that gaming can be a danger to people's health. It can lead to big problems. Most gamers don't have a problem. However, some doctors believe that too much gaming is not a mental illness. One doctor said it is like coffee addiction. Not many people have problems because of coffee.

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Gaming Disorder - Level 1

Too much gaming could be a mental health problem. The WHO has put "gaming addiction" on its list of diseases. Gaming disorder happens when people cannot stop playing and gaming becomes more important than other interests. The WHO says this must happen for at least a year to be a gaming disorder. Someone with gaming disorder will play even if they know they have problems and they have suffered "negative consequences" from gaming.

The WHO said doctors should know that gaming addiction is a danger to people's health. Most people who play video games don't have a disorder. Sometimes, too much gaming can lead to big problems. However, some doctors believe that too much gaming is not a mental illness. One doctor compared gaming and coffee addictions. He said: "Billions of people around the world are hooked on caffeine, but only rarely does this cause more trouble."

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Gaming Disorder - Level 2

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The WHO has said that too much gaming is a mental health problem. The WHO has put "gaming addiction" on its official list of diseases. The list is called the International Classification of Diseases. Gaming disorder happens when people cannot stop playing and gaming becomes more important than other interests. The WHO says this must happen for at least a year to be a gaming disorder. Someone with gaming disorder will play even if they know they have problems and they have suffered "negative consequences" from too much gaming.

The WHO said doctors should know that gaming addiction is a danger to people's health that has "serious" consequences. A WHO spokesman said most people who play video games don't have a disorder. However, in certain circumstances, too much gaming can lead to problems. Some doctors believe that too much gaming is not a mental illness. Psychiatrist Allen Frances compared a gaming addiction to coffee addiction. He said: "Billions of people around the world are hooked on caffeine for fun or better functioning, but only rarely does this cause more trouble than its worth."

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Gaming Disorder - Level 3

The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that too much gaming is officially a mental health problem. The WHO has put "gaming addiction" as a mental health condition on its official list of diseases. The list is called the International Classification of Diseases (ICD). It says that gaming disorder happens when people cannot stop playing and gaming becomes more important than other interests in life. The WHO says this must happen for at least a year for a doctor to say someone has gaming disorder. Someone with gaming disorder will insist on gaming even if they know they have a problem and they have suffered "negative consequences" from gaming too much.

The WHO said doctors should be aware that addiction to gaming is a clear and present danger to people's health because it has "serious" consequences. A WHO spokesman said: "Most people who play video games don't have a disorder, just like most people who drink alcohol don't have a disorder either. However, in certain circumstances, overuse can lead to adverse effects." Some doctors believe that too much gaming should not be considered a mental illness. Psychiatrist Allen Frances compared an addiction to gaming to coffee addiction. He said: "Billions of people around the world are hooked on caffeine for fun or better functioning, but only rarely does this cause more trouble than its worth."

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