Understanding Gaming Addiction and its Impact

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This chapter explores the severity of gaming addiction, including extreme behaviors associated with it such as violence, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts. It delves into the addictive nature of games and the role of the gaming industry in promoting addictive behavior. The chapter also discusses treatment techniques used at gaming disorder clinics and the need for a large-scale prevalence survey to understand the extent of the disorder.

In 2018 the World Health Organization formally included gaming disorder in its diagnostic manual for the first time. Nearly four years into running the only NHS gaming disorder clinic, Prof Henrietta Bowden-Jones tells Madeleine Finlay about how her team are learning to help those impacted, while a former patient explains how his gaming got out of hand, and how the clinic helped him to regain control. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/sciencepod