The World Health Organization has officially classified video game addiction as a mental health disorder.
The health body said that addiction is severe enough to be included in International Classification of Diseases released Monday. The WHO characterizes two forms of video game addiction: online and offline. It said addiction occurs by putting gaming ahead of “other life interests and daily activities.”
Another sign of addiction is when a person continues to play video games despite knowing of the negative consequences.
“The pattern of gaming behavior may be continuous or episodic and recurrent,” the classification of diseases said. “The gaming behavior and other features are normally evident over a period of at least 12 months in order for a diagnosis to be assigned.”
The classification comes after the WHO in December hinted that it could make video game addiction a mental disorder.
The International Classification of Disorders is updated every year. It provides codes for how to classify healthcare ailments. Insurers use the codes to categorize what to cover.
