Gaming addiction – A serious issue or a passionate hobby?

The World Health Organisation has recently recognised gaming addiction as an official disorder. Since then, the NHS has set up a gaming disorder clinic to help those struggling with this controversial addiction

Can you truly be addicted to gaming? While several scientists dispute the notion of becoming addicted to video games, the latest research and societal trends indicate otherwise. According to the World Health Organisation gaming addiction has been considered a disorder since 2019. The official definition states that the disorder is a “pattern of gaming behaviour (“digital-gaming” or “video-gaming”) characterised by impaired control over gaming, increasing priority given to gaming over other activities to the extent that gaming takes precedence over other interests and daily activities, and continuation or escalation of gaming despite the occurrence of negative consequences”.

 ‘Gaming disorder’ is one of the most recently recognised forms of addiction and continually divides opinion regarding its legitimacy. For example, Andrew Przybylski, director of research at the Oxford Internet Institute stated, “It’s absolutely not an addiction.” The gaming industry is also predictably critical of the decision to officialise gaming as a disorder. ESA, the voice of the gaming industry, responded to the classification with a statement that suggested gamers were simply “passionate and dedicated with their time”.

Understandably, the gaming industry may fear their products may be stigmatised or denounced due to this diagnostic, yet 2023 statistics refute this concern. In 2023, there are approximately 3.09 billion active video game players globally – an increase of 4.21% from the previous years. The quantity of online gamers is substantial, yet the question remains; How serious is this issue? 

Since the recognition of gaming addiction by the World Health Organisation, there have been significant advancements in research and education. The UK opened its first specialised NHS clinic in 2019 which treats people with gaming addictions and additionally provides support for their families. The clinic offers an initial three sessions during which they create ‘smart goals’ for the patient, analyse the pros and cons of gaming and initiate the discussion of why and when they started gaming. Once completed, Ted Piper, research assistant at the Gaming Disorder Centre elaborated on phase two. This stage encompassed eight sessions covering topics including triggers, rewards, the patient’s motivation for gaming and relapse prevention which collectively help reduce their game time. Crucially, Piper acknowledged that; 

“Unlike other addiction services, which primarily go for an abstinence approach – completely eliminating the behaviour. We realise that this isn’t a suitable approach for our patients, we very much go for harm reduction, reducing their gaming hours.” 

When questioned on their patient’s hours spent gaming Piper stated; 

“We might have people gaming anywhere up to 18 hours a day and we trying to reduce it down to like two to three hours. So, they’re engaging with it, they enjoy it but were trying to reduce the impact it has on other aspects of their life.” 

Piper disclosed that due to gaming’s official recognition as a disorder and media-induced awareness, their referrals have increased dramatically. Upon its opening in 2019, the clinic had a mere one hundred referrals. Last year, this number tripled, underscoring the severity and extent of the issue. Extreme cases of gaming addiction have also risen substantially. For example, one individual admitted to using substances including drugs and alcohol to allow him to continually game throughout the night.

More commonly, gaming addiction causes indirect mental and physical effects. I spoke to Henry (22), a recent graduate from Southampton University who reflected on his addiction. 

 “I feel as if gaming made me a lot more socially awkward than I would have been if I was socially active from a younger age. As gaming was something I did so regularly and spent so much time doing, I felt, and still feel anxiety when being in situations that I am not familiar with. I struggle with some social situations such as meeting people for the first time”.

It is worth noting that Henry was unaware that his behaviours were becoming an addiction. Despite starting at just 13 years old and playing for eight to twelve hours or more a day, he admitted; 

“At the time I didn’t see it as a gaming addiction. However, looking back, it was my main source of happiness and an escape from the real world where I wasn’t ever in any position to be out of my comfort zone”.

Henry’s apparent apathy toward his addiction highlights a common reason why many individuals refrain from sharing their personal struggles and seeking professional assistance. Furthermore, gaming is often stigmatised as frivolous and associated with adolescent teenagers. However, contrary to common belief the average age of a gamer is thirty-five. Pamela Roberts, psychotherapist and leading figure in the addiction community suggests that gaming has become predominantly stigmatised as a childhood problem and this can have negative consequences for adults who are struggling;

“It becomes gender stigmatised or age-stigmatised which then means there’s less opportunity for people to come forward”. Roberts also believes that many young women and girls are dealing with addictive tendencies with gaming, but this has not been identified yet.

Ted Piper concurred that age-ostracised discourse regarding gaming plays a role in preventing people from reaching out,

“Older People don’t necessarily want to refer themselves in, there might be a fear that their work might find out, they might lose their job, it might disrupt their family life. But we’re starting to see older people referring themselves to the clinic”. 

Gaming can and does remain a passionate and fun hobby for most individuals. However, this does not lessen the severity of addictive gaming, a widespread behaviour that impacts millions of people globally which can often lead to significant and distressing consequences. It is important to note that although seemingly risk-free, gaming can lead to addictions that affect relationships with loved ones, cause financial difficulties and can majorly impact both mental and physical well-being.