World Health Organization's Newest Diagnosis

Hey everyone!

I was listening to a really awesome podcast on my way to my DNP on-site class day and I heard something rather intriguing. And it something that probably affects all of us as pediatric nurses and parents.

The World Health Organization (WHO) just released an update to their list of diagnoses...and you won't believe what the newest official diagnosis on the list is !?!

*Drum roll please...*

Gaming Addiction

*Gasp*

What does this mean for us as healthcare providers and parents? A lot of things, good and bad.
I'm hoping bringing this information up to you may promote some interesting discussion, because this very well could be a very slippery slope into odd diagnoses that may or may not actually be the real cause of various behaviors.

The WHO defines "gaming disorder" as impaired control over gaming, increasing priority given to gaming over other activities to the extent that gaming takes precedence over other activities and interests, and continuation or escalation of gaming despite the occurrence of negative consequences (http://www.who.int/features/qa/gaming-disorder/en/)

So that basically sounds like any 14 year old boy on a lazy Saturday morning during the summer.

So folks, when does being a video game lover become an addiction that is now classifiable and deserving of prescriptions? How do we know when that level has been reached and its no longer just a serious hobby for teenagers?

Is it something that is going to be covered by medical insurance?

Is it something that will be covered under ADA laws?

So many questions and so few answers.

And my biggest question is... is a gaming disorder really what's actually going on with anybody that's playing too many video games? Is it really and addition to video games? Or is it someone dealing with anxiety or depression, or something else? Will this new diagnosis mask what is really going on? Or is it going to be a secondary diagnosis, mostly?

We will just have to wait and see.

Think about all the super gamers in your life. Would you classify them as suffering from a gaming addiction? Why or why not? Is this something you believe is seen primarily in the United States? Or are more nations affected more seriously by this than we are?

Thanks for the input everyone!