Maxwell Awumah, GNA
Hohoe, June 19, GNA – The United Nations
Health Agency has said obsessively playing of video games now qualifies as a
mental health condition.
In its latest revision to a disease
categorisation manual, copied to the Ghana News Agency, it confirmed the fears
of some parents but led critics to warn that it may risk stigmatizing too many
young video players.
World Health Organisation (WHO) said
classifying “Gaming Disorder” as a separate condition will help
governments, families and health care workers be more vigilant and prepared to
identify the risks.
The Agency and other experts were quick to
note that cases of the condition were still very rare, with not more than three
percent of all gamers affected.
Dr. Shekhar Saxena, Director of WHO’s
Department for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, said the Agency accepted the
proposal that ‘Gaming Disorder’ should be listed as a new problem based on
scientific evidence, in addition to “the need and the demand for treatment
in many parts of the world.”
Others welcomed WHO’s new categorisation,
saying it was critical to identify people hooked on video games quickly,
because they were usually teenagers or young adults who did not seek help.
Dr. Mark Griffiths, who had been researching
the concept of video gaming disorder for 30 years, said the new classification
would help legitimize the problem and strengthen treatment strategies.
“Video gaming is like a non-financial
kind of gambling from a psychological point of view,” said Griffiths, a
distinguished professor of behavioral addiction at Nottingham Trent University.
“Gamblers use money as a way of keeping
score whereas gamers use points.”
He guessed that the percentage of video game
players with a compulsive problem was likely to be extremely small—much less
than one percent—and that many such people would likely have other underlying
problems, like depression, bipolar disorder or autism.
WHO’s Saxena, however, estimated that two to
three percent of gamers might be affected.
Dr Saxena said parents and friends of video
game enthusiasts should still be mindful of a potentially harmful problem.
“Be on the lookout,” he said, noting
that concerns should be raised if the gaming habit appears to be taking over.
“If (video games) are interfering with
the expected functions of the person—whether it is studies, whether it’s
socialization, whether it’s work—then you need to be cautious and perhaps seek
help,” he said.
GNA