Article posted by the Independent  (21/12/2017) (said to have no political endorsements)

Gaming is soon set to become a mental disorder written in the 11th edition of The International Classification of Diseases published by the World Health Organisation set to come out in 2018. The reasoning for this is because gaming is highly addictive. Vladimir Poznyak, a member of the WHO’s Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, spoke about the importance of recognising gaming disorder as an important issue.

“Health professionals need to recognise that gaming disorder may have serious health consequences,” he said.  “Most people who play video games don’t have a disorder, just like most people who drink alcohol don’t have a disorder either. However, in certain circumstances overuse can lead to adverse effects.” (adverse effects not specified)

Another study was done by the University of Oxford's internet institute which was to find the percentage of gamers who had an addiction to gaming. They found that only 2-3% out of 19,000 gamers admitted to possessing symptoms from the American Psychiatric Association checklist of health symptoms. Within the study, there was no clear link that linked gaming to having negative effects.

In my opinion, gaming shouldn't be classified as a mental health disorder since, it gives another reason to deter people and parents from gaming. Being a gamer since I was young I wouldn’t say I am addicted to gaming even though I spend hours doing it however it is all up to interpretation since my reading is that of a negotiated one since I understand that people can become addicted to gaming but I dont think it should be classed as a mental disorder.