‘Gaming disorder’ vs. ‘digital wellness’

Unhealthy: An internet gaming addiction corrodes connections to family, friends, work, school, making some people lose sight of the richness of life beyond pixels.-AP

THE World Health Organization has a lot on its plate these days. Ebola’s made a comeback in central Africa. There are still parts of the world where polio has yet to be rubbed out. The agency is looking into the beginnings of a cholera outbreak in Cameroon, and continues the fight against malaria in parts of Latin America. Next up for the world’s leading health agency? Um, video games.

The agency has just designated compulsive video gaming as a mental health disorder, adding it to the International Classification of Diseases, the WHO’s official list of medical conditions. WHO officials are calling the malady “Gaming Disorder.” The goal of the new classification: better awareness among governments, health care providers and families about the risks and ramifications of compulsive video gaming.