The World Health Organization (WHO) updated this Friday the list of mental illnesses in which it incorporated video game addiction for the first time, as approved in an assembly held in May 2021.
The eleventh WHO International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), which is used by health professionals to standardize their workcodes 1.6 million clinical cases.
What was published this Friday is about the first revision of the list in 30 yearsso the above belongs to a time when this disorder barely existed.
In this way, the WHO seeks with this inclusion to improve statistics on video game addiction on the planet, since before this standardization studies offered highly variable figures on the prevalence of this disorder, ranging from 1% of the population up to even 50% (in Asia).
The ICD-11, prepared with data from more than 90 countries, is digital, without a paper version, and also includes new developments in traditional medicine and sexual health, according to the WHO in a statement.
Symptoms of video game addiction
As explained last year by the head of the WHO team that compiled the list, Robert Jakobsigns like not being able to stop playing on the internet or with a console, neglecting friendships or work because of this, in periods longer than one yearmay be symptoms of this addiction.
The inclusion of this disorder was not exempt from controversy last year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Because, the video game industry raised its voicearguing that there were no solid grounds for considering this addiction a mental illness.