If a social dysfunctional person spends 3 hours on video games and 3 hours on social media every day (look around you outside, everybody is always looking at their smartphone), then you cannot say that 3 hours of gaming are the direct cause it. It can be part video games, part social media. It can be only smartphone. The cause can be totally something else. 

Let's be real here; we all love gaming, but anyone who says it can never have negative effects is kidding themselves. Now, this doesn't imply that we as gamers are disordered, any more than suggesting that too much alcohol is unhealthy implies that everyone who enjoys wine is disordered. Pointing out that something is a problem when it severely impacts one's day to day functionality is not in the least bit controversial, it's simply common sense.

What an idiot, he basically can't tell the difference between having a beer while watching a football game and being a full-blown alcoholic. The WHO has never stated that videogames in general are bad or detrimental to your health and no one is "under attack". But videogame addiction is very, very real and a growing problem, I'm really happy that the WHO finally classed this as a diagnosis, my job will become a lot easier now in many cases.

Video games tap into the same mechanisms as facebook, instragram, twitter etc. do actually. It taps into your rewards center, and especially social networks are (like a lot of mobile games) literally made to be addictive. So yes, there is a disorder associated with social networks but it's usually under an umbrella term like 'internet addiction'.

See what I wrote above, video games tap into your brains reward center ant that's what can make them addictive and lead to a disorder. Tv, books and movies don't do this as much and and don't build a self-fullfilling cicle in the same way video games do, because they aren't interactive.

Other things that work off a similar mechanism though are, internet, sex, food, gambling or shopping addictions. Most of wich don't quite get as dangerous as gaming, because gaming has no 'come down' point and literally makes you neglect your bodies needs. That's why people die of dehydration while gaming, but not neccessarily while shopping.

In any case, everything that taps ino your rewards center and is available in unlimited quantities has the potential to become addicting. We are talking about extreme cases though.

As someone who owns shares from Eli Lilly, yes, it is; and yes, you do :D

(just half-serious, of course)

No need to name it. They have a name for too many diseases/disorders/conditions.

This is no need to name all these addictions. Whether its a gaming addiction, porn addiction, phone addiction, facebook, ect. It's all the same. It's an addiction. A different type of addiction than like a drug addiction, but still an addiction.

I wish I could play 8 hours a day...

You do realize there is a sex addiction too?

Doing anything for 8 hours a day would be an addiction. It could be gaming, reading, watching tv, or it could even be something healthy like working out even. There was a story I watched on tv once where a guy rode his indoor bike basically all day long. The entire time he was working from home, he would be peddling. He had an addiction, a mental disorder, whatever you want to call it.

If you game 8 hours a day, or NEED to game even a couple hours a day, you have an addiction. If you can't go without something, you have a problem.

Holy shit, way to blow things way out of proportion and put words in my mouth. I said if he spends ALL his time playing games as in from the time he gets home from school to the time he goes to bed or all day every weekend & summer/winter vacations.

And yes craving sex so much to the point where its all you care about is a disorder.

So basically, this means that people with a severe gaming addiction can get help more easily.

Why does this offend so many people? Shouldn't gamers be happy that their issues are getting more attention?