With technology, electronic devices and the Internet becoming ubiquitous and children taking to gizmos and gadgets with manic frenzy, there’s rising panic about children and youth’s growing digital gaming addiction. In its latest International Classification of Diseases, the World Health Organisation has categorised ‘gaming disorder’ as a serious mental health condition – K.P. Malini & Jayalakshmi Vaidyanathan Tech addiction — a childhood lifestyle disease — is generating anxiety among parents worldwide. With technology, electronic devices and Internet access becoming ubiquitous, and children taking to gizmos and gadgets with manic frenzy, there’s fear that excessive exposure to computers, smart phones and gaming consoles is creating an entire generation of tech addicts who will need medical care and remedial therapy before they attain adulthood. In particular, there is rising panic about children and youth’s growing addiction to video gaming which is emerging as a popular form of entertainment. In June, the World Health Organisation (WHO) released the 11th edition of its International Classification of Diseases (ICD), in which it has categorised ‘gaming disorder’ as a mental health condition. WHO defines gaming disorder as “a pattern of behaviour for at least 12 months in which gaming is out of control” and “increased priority given to gaming” to the point that gaming “takes precedence over other interests and daily activities”. With one in three Internet users being children and teenagers aged below 18, according to a December 2017 report of Unicef, there’s rising concern that children and teens will become the biggest victims of gaming disorder even as the online gaming industry, as per a March 2018 report by industry association FICCI and consulting firm Ernst and Young, is flourishing with an annual average growth rate of 27.5 percent between 2016-2020. Like most lifestyle diseases, gaming addiction begins innocuously with parents gifting children gaming consoles for play and entertainment. The history of Ganesh Srinivas, a final year Chennai-based engineering student, is illustrative. He was gifted a new Nintendo DS, a dual-screen handheld game console, when he was in class III and allowed 30 minutes every day to play. With every game completed, he realised he was getting better. He loved the challenges and rewards of the gaming world. In class X and XII, he gamed to relax during study breaks. But soon, the breaks started extending beyond 30 minutes. Also, the activity stressed him out, with every game requiring him to be fully focused — in constant flight or fight mode. Gradually, the rewards and stimulus of goals achievement kept him glued to the console/computer for over six-seven hours at a stretch. He skipped meals and reduced his sleeping hours. His grades began to fall and he experienced significant weight loss. Fortunately, his parents realised that he needed professional counseling to help him understand the difference between the virtual and real worlds and he began to disengage from compulsive gaming. “In my over seven years of clinical experience, I have treated many cases of children, especially teenagers, suffering from mild to severe gaming addiction.…
