Concerns raised on the issue of online gaming in Rajya Sabha
Recently during Zero Hour in Rajya Sabha, it was highlighted the fact that during the pre-COVID period, the weekly time spent on mobile gaming was 2.5 hours, this increased to 4 hours during the lockdown period.
Concerns were also expressed over the millions of youth getting accustomed to the dangers of online gaming.
Online games refer to those games, which are played in some form or the other through a computer network. Most of these are played through the Internet. Some examples are Ludo Kings, Rummy, Poker, Dream11 etc.
According to the All India Gaming Federation, India’s online gaming industry is expected to be worth Rs 15,500 crore by the year 2023.
India was ranked second after South Korea in terms of number of gamers in a survey conducted by the United States-based Limelight Networks in the year 2019.
About gaming disorder
The World Health Organization announced “gaming disorder” as a new mental health condition included in the 11th edition of its International Classification of Diseases. The World Health Organization (WHO) classified gaming disorder as a ‘mental health condition’ in the year 2018.
According to the WHO definition, a person who has a gaming disorder will exhibit the following symptoms for at least 12 months:
- Lack of control over his gaming habits
- Prioritizing gaming over other interests and activities
- Continuing gaming despite its negative consequences, etc.
- Gaming disorders cause physical, social and emotional damage. They also cause loss of sleep, hunger, career and social life.
Source – The Hindu
