This article discusses the increase of video game use in the UK.
Three main points related to problem gaming:
- video game addiction increased during the pandemic, similar to other mental health issues
- data suggests that more people are gaming excessively to cope with anxiety, depression and other stressors brought about by the pandemic. Mental health clinics, both general and specialized like the UK’s National Centre for Gaming Disorders, have seen spikes in patient referrals
- Video game addiction is a contentious subject. Once the source of scaremongering tales, there’s now some denial that it’s a problem at all. When the World Health Organization added gaming disorder to its international disease classification in 2018, disputers argued that excessive gaming to be merely a symptom of larger issues
Video Game Addiction Is on the Rise. Here’s What It Looks Like | Discover Magazine