The international community of video game developers and publishers did not agree with the decision of the World Health Organization (WHO) to include gaming disorder in the new edition of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD). 8 gaming associations have signed an appeal to the WHO with a request to reconsider their plans.
A collective petition to the WHO was submitted by gaming associations of the USA, Canada, South Africa, Australia, South Korea and Brazil, as well as the European associations ISFE and EGDF.
The authors of the document state that video games do not harm their audience, which exceeds 2 billion people worldwide. In addition, games promote learning and recreation, which is widely recognized internationally. According to the drafters of the petition, the arguments for including gaming disorder in the international list of diseases remain “controversial and unconvincing.”
“We hope that WHO will consider our arguments before approving gaming disorder in the final version of the ICD, which will be released in 2019. We and our supporters protest against this step and urge WHO to avoid actions that will entail unjustified consequences for health systems around the world,” the statement said.
The American ESA also published its own statement, in which it speaks about the risk of making a false diagnosis of “gaming addiction”. It means that the craving for video games may not be due to games as such, but to more common types of mental disorders — depression, anxiety, severe stress, and so on.
ESA’s statement regarding the WHO’s proposed video game disorder classification. For more, please visit https://t.co/AQE0623Dol pic.twitter.com/GDSbuCTMxq
— The ESA (@theESA) June 18, 2018
Протест игровых ассоциаций разделяют и некоторые доктора. В марте 2018 года подразделение психологии медиа и технологий Американской психологической ассоциации заявило, что по мнению специалистов ассоциации, игровая зависимость представляет собой один из вариантов аддиктивного поведения и не нуждается в отдельном диагнозе.
Напомним, впервые ВОЗ сообщил о включении игрового расстройства в проект новой редакции МКБ в феврале 2018 года.
Also on the topic:
- WHO has recognized gambling addiction as a mental disorder
- Is the diagnosis a gamer? WHO wants to add “gaming disorder” to the international list of diseases
Source: PC Gamer