‘Excessive Video Gaming’ in Draft as a Mental Health Condition
January 2, 2018
The World Health Organization included "excessive video gaming" in its draft of the 2018 International Classification of Diseases.
If it's included next year, video gaming would be considered a diagnosis that health professionals and insurance companies could use.
Michael Beall, director of GEAR Learning, an educational gaming development center at UW-Madison, said he believes this classification is a step backward for gaming, which he sees as a positive influence in people's lives.
"A lot of good video games nowadays have a very rich narrative," Beall said. "It's just like reading a book. People want to finish this. They want to know what happens at the end."
