A new study from the Oxford Internet Institute suggests there isn’t “sufficient evidence” to support gaming disorder as a recognised disease, months after the World Health Organisation officially added it to its list of addictive behaviour disorders.
In the study, co-author and Director of Research, Professor Andrew Przybylski, states that previous research into the so-called disorder has “failed to examine the wider context of what is going on in these young peoples’ lives” and furthered that prolongued gaming sessions do not cause “emotional, peer, or behavioural” issues.
Moreover, Oxford’s study wanted to understand why players had long gaming sessions rather than just concluding prolongued play was wrong, and compared data from more than 1,000 teens and their guardians.
“Variations in gaming experience are much more likely to be linked to whether adolescents’ basic psychological needs for competence, autonomy, and social belonging are being met and if they are already experiencing wider functioning issues,” Przybylski said. “In light of our findings we do not believe sufficient evidence exists to warrant thinking about gaming as a clinical disorder in its own right.
“We need better data and the cooperation of video gaming companies if we are to get to the bottom of all this,” Przybylski concluded.
You can read the full study here.
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