Video Game Addiction Is Now Officially A Mental Health Disorder

In what is only news to people who aren’t parents of Fortnite addicted teens and tweens, video game addiction is now a real thing.

The World Health Organization has officially added video game addiction (defined as “a pattern of persistent or recurrent gaming behavior” that “takes precedence over other life interests”) to the International Classification of Diseases database.

The World Health Organization has officially added video game addiction — characterized by “a pattern of persistent or recurrent gaming behavior” that “takes precedence over other life interests” — to their International Classification of Diseases (ICD) database.

Video games are a real thing. And they are becoming more and more popular. Fortnite made 3 billion dollars last year. And as this just grows, so does the addiction.

According to the WHO, for gaming disorder to be diagnosed, the behavior pattern must be of sufficient severity to result in significant impairment in personal, family, social, educational, occupational or other important areas of functioning and would normally have been evident for at least 12 months.

What does that mean? It means in order to be diagnosed with gaming disorder, you need to be a video game zombie for at least a year before it’s considered an actual problem.

Are video games bad?

No, not most of the time. Over 2 billion people play them and only a tiny percentage will ever be addicted.

But, if you or a loved one is spending so much time on video games that they are missing out on real life friendships, jobs, and family– then they should definitely talk to someone.

And yes, mobile games count, too. So candy crushers, you aren’t going to get a pass on this one.