When online video games first started to become a thing in 1999/2000, I developed a bit of an unhealthy obsession with a Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game (MMO) called Everquest. I had just moved out west from Montreal with my fianc茅e and hadn鈥檛 made many new friends out here, so I was understandably a bit lonely. Back in Quebec, I had a ton of friends, and one particular group with whom I played the pen and paper Dungeons & Dragons game on Saturday nights. Everquest filled that hole, by allowing me to roleplay a wood elf ranger, and do battle with the forces of evil alongside other gamers.
But, for whatever reason, I let the video game go from a fun pastime or diversion, into something that was affecting my relationship. I was spending more time in the game world than I was in real life, and it worried my significant other. When I realized just how much I was playing the game, I eventually backed off and opted for moderation when it came to my gaming habits. I still consider myself a hardcore gamer today. However, I won鈥檛 forego family responsibilities, work, or anything else in favour of a mere digital diversion.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently proposed adding something called 鈥楪aming Disorder鈥� to the 2018 list of its International Classification of Diseases,聽 listed under 鈥渄isorders due to substance use or addictive behaviours.鈥� They want to classify it as similar to gambling addiction; however, some experts say the move 鈥渢rivializes real mental health issues.鈥�
鈥淛ust like avid sports fans and consumers of all forms of engaging entertainment, gamers are passionate and dedicated with their time. Having captivated gamers for more than four decades, more than two billion people around the world enjoy video games,鈥� read a statement by the Entertainment Software Association. 鈥淭he World Health Organization knows that common sense and objective research prove video games are not addictive. And, putting that official label on them recklessly trivializes real mental health issues like depression and social anxiety disorder, which deserve treatment and the full attention of the medical community. We strongly encourage the World Health Organization to reverse direction on its proposed action.鈥�
Some psychiatrists are also concerned with the proposed classification, saying that 鈥渨hile 鈥榤yths鈥� about the similarities between gaming and substance abuse persist, they are true 鈥榦nly insofar as any pleasurable activity activates these regions [of the brain].
How gaming involves them is more similar to other fun activities like eating chocolate, having sex, getting a good grade, etc., not heroin or cocaine.鈥� They suggest that excess gaming could be a 鈥渃oping mechanism鈥� rather than a problem unto itself, and the focus should not be on gaming but on an individual鈥檚 tendency to overindulge in any given activity.
In other words, it isn鈥檛 about gaming, but rather why a person uses the games to escape.
The WHO proposal isn鈥檛 set in stone, and it remains to be seen if the classification will go ahead. It鈥檚 also important to note that in 2013, 鈥淚nternet Gaming Disorder鈥� was also proposed for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, but was ultimately shelved for further study due to a lack of evidence supporting its inclusion.
