Gaming disorder " now a medical disorder

On Monday,18^th of June, 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) added gaming disorder to its latest draft of the International Classification of Diseases or ICD , its classification of medical conditions.

Why has the WHO singled out online gaming as a behavioural disorder when today there are all kinds of addictions like food, shopping, sex and work? Is the online gaming disorder comparable to drug addiction? How do we address it? How serious is this ailment? To start with, gaming disorder is characterised by a pattern of persistent or recurrent “gaming behaviour”—digital gaming or video gaming, which may be online or offline—the WHO manual said. The condition is still rare,but is increasing at an alarming rate.

Gaming industry in India- already bigger than radio and music industry

The global online gaming industry generates more revenue than television, movies or the music industry, a June 2018 report by global asset management firm Oppenheimer Funds said. Globally, eSports, short for electronic sports, a digital media format where virtual game-play is monetised as video content and streamed in a fashion similar to football matches, is a multi-billion dollar industry on a par with field sports such as football and basketball.

In India, the online gaming industry is estimated to be the highest growth sector in the media and entertainment industry, with an average growth rate of 27.5% between 2016 and 2020 compared to the overall industry’s 11.6% for the same period, according to a March 2018 report by industry associations . It is already bigger than radio and the music industry in terms of revenue.

Many young adults, between 15 and 25 are now increasingly exposed to addictive gaming, and the trend of smaller kids going online is only increasing.