Over the weekend, the Guardian published a trio of stories about video game addiction. One was about the 850 people referred to an NHS treatment clinic in the last three years (of whom 227 were under 18). Another was on developers' use of tactics from the gambling industry to keep people spending on games. The third was by the director of the National Centre for Gaming Disorders, calling for industry regulation to better protect young people. These stories concern a problem that is certainly real, especially so for people affected by compulsive gaming behaviour, whose stories are no less affecting than those of gambling addicts.

China's strict limits on how long minors can play online video games just got stricter. Chinese children and teenagers are banned from online gaming on school days, and limited to one hour a day on weekend and holiday evenings under government rules issued Monday. The rules released by the National Press and Publication Administration tightened restrictions from 2019 aimed at what the government said was a growing scourge of online game addiction among school children. Under the old rules, players younger than 18 were limited to no more than 90 minutes of gaming on weekdays and three hours a day on weekend. Parents had complained that was too generous and had been laxly enforced, the administration said.

China is imposing curfews and regulations on video game playing minors. China is imposing curfews and regulations on video game playing minors. Chinese officials are cracking down on youth online gaming, which they say negatively affects the health and learning of minors. Official guidelines released Tuesday outline a new curfew and time restrictions for gamers under 18. Six measures were outlined in the guidelines, aimed at preventing minors "from indulging in online games."

Think your kid is addicted to video games? There could be something to it. The World Health Organization has made video game addiction an official mental health disorder. The Geneva, Switzerland-headquartered organization has added "Gaming disorder" to the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems or "ICD-11," which goes into effect in January 2022. The condition has been included in the global medical guide within a section detailing disorders due to substance use or addictive behaviors along with "Gambling disorder." The ICD-11 describes "Gaming disorder" as recurrent video game playing that leads to "impaired control over gaming" and an "increasing priority given to gaming to the extent that gaming takes precedence over other life interests and daily activities," despite "the occurrence of negative consequences."

Here is what is streaming on Netflix in October of 2018, including "Empire Records," the second season of "Big Mouth" and "Making a Murderer: Part 2" USA TODAY Netflix eats up 15% of the global internet's bandwidth capacity by streaming video to over 125 million users. Netflix knows it has a grip on viewers: The average subscriber streamed 50 minutes of Netflix a day last year, according to a CNBC report, and CEO Reed Hastings admits he wants to keep you watching. "You know, think about it, when you watch a show from Netflix and you get addicted to it, you stay up late at night," Hastings said in an earnings call last year, per Recode. Now, a Netflix superuser in India who watched more than seven hours a day has admitted he needs help, the Hindu reported. The unidentified 26-year-old checked into the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences in Bangalore last week after using Netflix to escape the reality of his unemployment for six months, according to the newspaper.

Snooker player Neil Robertson claims a ruinous addiction has harmed his professional career. It's not alcohol, it's not drugs – it is video games. In a recent interview with Eurosport, the Australian said his compulsive need to play the online fantasy game World of Warcraft interfered with his training and preparation for a tournament in China. "I'm two months sober from playing them," he told the site. "My friend said to me: 'you don't get to choose the crack you are addicted to'. And the multiplayer online ones I can't touch because I just get too hooked on them."