What others say: Like all things, video games in moderation

The World Health Organization has a lot on its plate these days. Ebola’s made a comeback in central Africa. There are still parts of the world where polio has yet to be rubbed out. The agency is looking into the beginnings of a cholera outbreak in Cameroon, and continues the fight against malaria in parts of Latin America. Next up for the world’s leading health agency? Um, video games.

The agency has just designated compulsive video gaming as a mental health disorder, adding it to the International Classification of Diseases, the WHO’s official list of medical conditions. WHO officials are calling the malady “Gaming Disorder.” The goal of the new classification: better awareness among governments, health care providers and families about the risks and ramifications of compulsive video gaming.

It would be easy to write off the agency’s decision as a nanny-group attempt to slap a label onto behavior that experts — always, experts — deem to be bad for us. Equating late nights on Minecraft with getting hooked on vodka or blackjack? Really?

But underlying the agency’s declaration is an important reminder about addiction.

It’s not that every kid, or even most kids, glued to gaming screens suffer from obsessive/compulsive Grand Theft Auto. In fact, WHO researchers say gaming disorder would apply to just 3 percent of all video game players.

But no matter what form it takes, an addiction corrodes connections to family, friends, work and much more. A line of cocaine, another double whiskey, the next spin of the wheel — alienates people from one another. With the lure of the display screen so prevalent today — the ceaseless barrage of emails, tweets, texts, Snapchats and, yes, games — some people lose sight of the richness of life beyond pixels.

That’s why a group of former Silicon Valley software developers and behavioral scientists are urging all of us to focus on “digital wellness.” The Washington Post recently reported on the group’s “digital wellness movement,” and on the backbone of that effort — the creation of apps that allow users to keep track of their screen time. Many of us might spend less time fixated by our phones if we knew that so much of our day was devoted to scrolling and tapping.

“I’m not saying that technology is inherently bad,” Duke University behavioral researcher Nick Fitz told the Post. As part of the digital wellness movement, Fitz created an app that groups smartphone notifications into batches delivered just three times daily — morning, afternoon and evening. “People should be conscious of how they’re using (digital activity),” he said, “and how it’s using them.”

The WHO designation is a cri de coeur to all of us for screen-time vigilance. The technology already exists to monitor usage of apps, video games and downloads, and to apply parental controls. Like everything else in life, digital wellness asks for moderation. Keep that in mind the next time your Candy Crush session hits the four-hour mark.

— The Chicago Tribune, June 18, 2018

More in Opinion

No to 67%

Recently, the Alaska State Officers Compensation Commission voted to raise the pay… Continue reading

This image available under the Creative Commons license shows the outline of the state of Alaska filled with the pattern of the state flag.
Opinion: Old models of development are not sustainable for Alaska

Sustainability means investing in keeping Alaska as healthy as possible.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy unveils proposals to offer public school teachers annual retention bonuses and enact policies restricting discussion of sex and gender in education during a news conference in Anchorage. (Screenshot)
Opinion: As a father and a grandfather, I believe the governor’s proposed laws are anti-family

Now, the discrimination sword is pointing to our gay and transgender friends and families.

Kenai Peninsula Education Association President Nathan Erfurth works in his office on Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Voices of the Peninsula: Now is the time to invest in Kenai Peninsula students

Parents, educators and community members addressed the potential budget cuts with a clear message.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy holds a press conference at the Capitol on Tuesday, April 9, 2019. (Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: An accurate portrayal of parental rights isn’t controversial

Affirming and defining parental rights is a matter of respect for the relationship between parent and child

t
Opinion: When the state values bigotry over the lives of queer kids

It has been a long, difficult week for queer and trans Alaskans like me.

Unsplash / Louis Velazquez
Opinion: Fish, family and freedom… from Big Oil

“Ultimate investment in the status quo” is not what I voted for.

Dr. Sarah Spencer. (Photo by Maureen Todd and courtesy of Dr. Sarah Spencer)
Voices of the Peninsula: Let’s bring opioid addiction treatment to the Alaskans who need it most

This incredibly effective and safe medication has the potential to dramatically increase access to treatment

An orphaned moose calf reared by the author is seen in 1970. (Stephen F. Stringham/courtesy photo)
Voices of the Peninsula: Maximizing moose productivity on the Kenai Peninsula

Maximum isn’t necessarily optimum, as cattle ranchers learned long ago.

(Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire File)
Opinion: The time has come to stop Eastman’s willful and wanton damage

God in the Bible makes it clear that we are to care for the vulnerable among us.

Caribou graze on the greening tundra of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in northeast Alaska in June, 2001. (Michael Penn / Juneau Empire File)
Opinion: AIDEA’s $20 million-and-growing investment looks like a bad bet

Not producing in ANWR could probably generate a lot of money for Alaska.

A fisher holds a reel on the Kenai River near Soldotna on June 30, 2021. (Photo by Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Voices of the Peninsula: King salmon closures long overdue

Returns have progressively gone downhill since the early run was closed in June 2012